And the Alpha is
by MintCcIceCream
Summary: Jacob is forced to accept the Alpha position from Sam. Three years after Bella left him, he runs into strange wolves from a different pack. No one knows anything about them, and the one person who knows, Jacob's imprint, won't tell them. Jacob/OC
1. Prologue

**Ok so this is my first story! I've loved this site forever and I decided I wanted to write my own story! This idea came to me while watching the Lion King the other day. I have no idea why. And don't diss Lion King b/c I love the classics!**

**Anyway, I don't own Twilight or anything that Stephenie Meyer does! I figured I was supposed to out this here. This is for the whole story so I don't have to do it again!**

Why am I doing this again? Oh yeah because I'm the Alpha now. Yup that's me! I'm the Alpha! Shocker right? Well, at least it was to me! And now I have to be here and tell other people what to do and what not to do; when they're supposed to patrol and who they're patrolling with. Sounds like fun doesn't it? No not really. I really wished I had made Sam keep the Alpha position. Stupid lineage. Now I'm stuck in charge of a bunch of crazy wolf boys and I don't even have a clue what I'm supposed to do with my messed up life, let alone tell other people what to do. Whoever made my ancestors Alphas really needs to be slapped upside the head. Why should I be the Alpha anyways? I have no idea what I'm doing! Ugh! Well anyways, here goes another torturous pack meeting, and I really hope I don't screw this one up too.

"_Um guys I don't really know what to tell you. The new guys, Collin and Brady, stay phased and we'll teach you the ropes of patrolling and such. Sam, Paul, stay and help. The rest of you can go back to whatever you were doing before we had this meeting."_

I guess that went well. Actually nothing really happened, but that's better than catastrophe.

"_Ok guys, its not really that complicated. I'm sure you've heard of the border right?"_ When they both nodded in confirmation, Sam continued. _"So when you have patrol, you go around making sure there are no vampires running loose, but stay out of the Cullen territory. Got that?"_

As soon as the word 'Cullen' came out of his mouth, well thoughts, I immediately started growling and whining. Impulse reaction I guess. Stupid bloodsuckers. Stupid Edward. Bella. My Bella. Well I guess she's not mine, but I sure won't call her the leeches! I could feel my heart pounding unevenly just picturing her face, beautiful and smiling, so happy. Then right net to her is Cullen. Man I can't stand him!

"Jake, you ok?" said Paul. We had phased back and were all changed and getting ready to head to the beach for a bonfire tonight.

"Yeah Paul. I'm just dandy." I said back, sarcasm leaking through my voice.

"Jake I know this is all hard on you, but you just have to let her go. You can't just be grumpy and depressed for the rest of your life! Get back out there and live a little!" said Sam.

"Yeah I know. But it's so hard! How do I go on when the love of my life just walked away with _him_? She chose a leech over me! A freakin' bloodsucking leech!"

"Calm down man. We understand, but still, you have to start getting back to your life." Paul said, surprising me by being sensitive.

"Uh huh, thanks guys really. I think I just need time." I said. "Let's go set up for the bonfire."

"Race you!" shouted Collin, who still loved to fool around with his new found strength and speed.

And so there we were, 5 huge guys running through the woods and laughing, tripping others to get ahead, and just enjoying the moment.

Oh how I missed times like these.

When we got to the beach, we were all laughing. Paul, surprisingly, won out, but I think only because he swung out a branch for all of us to run into. Not that it hurt, but it certainly did slow us down.

"Finally!" I heard Quil shouting from the fire. We all ran up to see Emily and the other imprints setting up the food.

"No eating yet! You have to wait! Don't be piggies!" yelled Claire. Of course this sent up all into a fit of laughter again. Claire just pouted, her little 5 year old face scrunching up. Quil was the pick her up and tickle her until she was screaming and laughing again, making the rest of us laugh even more.

"So guys, should we pick up where we left off last time?" said Embry with a devilish grin on his face. Everyone immediately agreed and soon we playing football and yelling at each other, arguing whether it was a touchdown or a foul or not. Leah, not wanting to play with us 'overgrown and immature idiots' was referee and never let anyone get away with anything. Especially Sam, but that's another story. Jared through one really far to Seth, but it ended up going into the woods. Seth ran off to get it, and I chased after him, wanting to get the ball for my team. When we got there though, there was someone else holding the ball. I couldn't see who it was, because they were in the cover of the shadows.

"Is this what you're looking for?" said a deep mysterious voice coming from the shady silhouette.

**Ooo! Who is there? And what does he want? Suspense! Please review! I would love to know if anyone thinks this story is worth writing! Also, I apologize for the short chapter! I wasn't sure what else to write. Also, if you think went too fast please tell me! I don't like beating around the bush, so I jumped right into the point of the story. Tell me if you think I should slow it down! Thank you so much!**


	2. A Run in with the Family Creeper

**Ok guys I have to say, for the first chapter, you have no idea how amazing it is to get 5 reviews!!! 5 whole amazing reviews!!! I was so happy when I saw these I was practically jumping for joy! I love you reviewers!!!! Thank you to Laheba Alam, ****emmettsmyfave****, ****Little Black Dresses, Bible Chick, and Sourcherry01!!!! You guys are amazing!!!**

**Also, I was looking for a beta so if anyone wants to do it or knows someone who would do it please let me know!!! Now, on with the story!**

"_Is this what you're looking for?" said a deep mysterious voice coming from the shady silhouette._

"That's our ball. Thanks dude!" said Seth, who was being completely natural and oblivious to the creeper standing in front of us.

The man came out of the shadows then, and I couldn't help but notice the similarities between him and the pack. He had the similar russet skin, although his was slightly lighter, tall build and naturally muscular. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was a wolf too. But we're the only one out there, besides the freaky movie werewolves. His midnight blue eyes scrutinized me like I was some piece of art he was dissecting for approval. "I noticed. Name's Matt. I was wondering if there was a Sam Uley here."

I took a slight step forwards, trying to keep Seth out of this. Who knew what this guy could do.

"What do you want to do with Sam?" I asked, trying to be casual, and failing miserably. I probably sounded like I was choking on salt water.

He didn't seem phased by the hostility in my voice. "I just want to meet him. I heard he was the chief around here, or whatever you guys call it."

Now I was very suspicious. How would he know that? It's not true anymore, but still. I felt uneasy about this guy, and wasn't sure if I should tell him if Sam's here or not. Unfortunately, Sam happened to overhear us and came walking over.

He was acting calm in the strange situation, as usual. "I'm Sam Uley. What can I do for you?"

"Well I'm Matt and my father told me about your… pack. I heard you were the Alpha, and I came to straighten that out." Matt replied, like it was a natural thing to say.

I looked around at the rest of the pack, who had come closer to see what was going on (even though they probably didn't need to, they're just nosy). They all looked as creeped out and confused as I was. I really wanted to know what this was all about. I was getting impatient with all of this, so, as Alpha, I went right ahead and asked, even if I didn't realize I did until after the words came out of my mouth.

"Straighten out what? How do you know that Sam is the Alpha? And who the hell is your father to tell you about us?"

He smiled a little. It was an evil little smirk like the bad guys have before they are about to kill you. "Well that's precisely why I'm here. I know about you, because my father gave me exactly what he gave to Sam. The werewolf gene. My pack lives out in Northern Idaho, along with my father," he paused, trying to be dramatic, but really just pissing off the group of wolves surrounding him. "And Sam's."

It was completely silent. No one had any clue of what to say or what to do. I looked over at Sam, only to see him looking back at me. His expression was one of horror, surprise, and anger. The latter was probably for his father, and not Matt, but I felt that both of them deserved it right now.

Paul, with his big mouth, was the first one to speak. "Who the hell do you think you are? You come here and tell us that you're also a freakish wolf like us, and then you say that you're Sam's freakin' brother?!?" He seemed to be really mad. Paul's always mad, but this time that anger was shared throughout the rest of the pack.

Sam, seemingly speechless, finally found his voice to talk. "My father. You come all this way to see me to tell me about my father? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't care what you have to say about my sorry excuse for a father." Hurt and anger was leaking through his voice. I don't know if Matt could tell, because Sam has always been one to be calm during crazy situations, but the rest of us could see through it clearly.

"I think what everyone is trying to say, is that you caught us unexpected, especially with news of Sam's father, but if that's all, then we would like to ask you to leave." I said, trying my best to be a good Alpha is this type of situation, especially while Sam is falling apart.

Matt just laughed, and it made a shiver run down my spine. "Oh I'm far from done here. My father told me that Sam was the Alpha of the pack down here in La Push. As your older brother, I felt that I needed to come and take my place as the rightful Alpha." When he finished, he had a smug smile on his face, and a small murmur of voices started to descend around us. Before I could say something back, we saw Emily, Kim, Maggie, Embry's imprint, and Claire, all walking towards us, and more importantly Matt.

All of the imprinters immediately went stiff and tried to block off Matt's sight from them. Of course, as a wolf, it wasn't that easy to keep their arrival from him.

"Oh! And who do we have here? Hello ladies." He said, trying to be seductive. He looked Maggie up and down, checking her out. Then he gave her a wink and licked his lower lip, in a way that would make any guy shiver in disgust, but may have the opposite effect on girls. Maggie was never one to sit back and take something, so it was no surprise that she stood up to him.

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are appearing here and trying to flirt with me? I don't know who you are or why you're here, but I couldn't care less. Back off, because I happen to be _engaged_." She ended with a death glare towards him, and he looked back shocked and slightly startled. Embry, looking proud, wrapped his arm around her waist and she leaned back into him.

"Well, congratulations then. And actually I do have a purpose for being here. I came here to claim my rightful position in the pack." He said.

I, as the actual Alpha, felt it was my job to set him straight on this whole Alpha situation. "Sam's not the Alpha. He's my second in command. I'm the Alpha of this pack." I tried to look proud of that position while I was telling him all this, but inside I knew that I almost wished that he could have been right and Sam was the Alpha. "My name's Jacob Black."

"Well Jacob, it's very nice to meet you. And, if you don't mind my asking, how did you become the Alpha of the pack anyway? Last I heard Sam was." He looked honestly curious, but I could see the cogs in his head, trying to decipher this new news. I think he wanted to try and find a way around it, but then again, I really couldn't be sure.

"Well my grandfather, Ephrium Black, was the last chief of the Quilete tribe. My ancestors were all respected chiefs on the reservation. Levi Uley was second in command to my grandfather, which is why Sam has his position." I figured this would clarify things well enough for him.

"I see. Well you certainly left me a lot to think about. Thank you very much for everything. I hope we meet again Jacob, Sam." He said this with a slight head nod to each of us when he said our names, and then he was gone.

"Jeez what's his rush?" said Leah, looking just a tad bit more pissed off than normal.

"I have no idea, but I don't like hearing that he'll be back. That guy gives me the beejebers!" said Quil, who gave a little shudder to show the emphasis of what he said. We all laughed slightly at him, but were still too tense to let even Quil's jokes cool us off.

"Same here. And I swear if he tries to hit on me again, I'm going to seriously consider kicking him in his vulnerable spot." Maggie said, with a devilish smile creeping across her face. Embry, with his arm still around her, looked like he may be sick from the thought of him hitting on Maggie again.

We all tried to relax a little more after that. No one wanted to keep the awkward tension hanging there any longer. We went back to our game and played for a little while longer. It was getting late, and the girls were getting tired. We all started to head off in our own directions when Sam came up to me.

"Hey Jacob. Can I talk to you for a second?" He seemed nervous; almost like he was afraid I'd say no.

"Yeah sure Sam." I said. We stood there, watching as everyone drove off. We were standing next to Sam's old black truck and Emily was inside, waiting for us to finish I guess. "What's up?"

He was wringing his hands together, seemingly uneasy. He took a deep breath and let it out, then started to talk. "I feel really unsure of what that Matt guy wanted. He seemed like he came here and he was all cocky and proud of who knows what, and then when he found out that you were the Alpha and not me, he got really nervous and didn't really know what to say next. I mean, he got out of there pretty fast, even for a werewolf. If he knows my dad, than he obviously knows something, and the fact that he knew I was the Alpha, even though I'm not anymore, is starting to scare me. Something is off with that guy, and I don't know what he is planning to do with you or me, and I'm worried about how-" I cut off his babbling there. I don't think I'd ever seen Sam this distressed.

"Sam, calm down. I don't know what he was doing or what's going to happen, but I think the best we can do is to just stay calm and keep a lookout for anything unusual. Until something starts happening, I don't think we should freak out too much over it." I said, and I suddenly felt this burst of support in me. I felt like a real Alpha at that second. I was telling people what to do in a crazy situation, and I helped calm Sam down. At that moment, I wasn't thinking about hating my ancestors or about Bella, I was just thinking about how I, as the Alpha, could help out Sam and the rest of the pack.

"Ok I guess you're right. Well I'll see you later Jake." Sam said, and started to get back in his car.

"Later Sam." I replied.

I started to get in my car to drive home when I heard a very faint howl in the distance. I didn't recognize it as one of the packs, so I figured it must be a local wolf. It wasn't too loud so it must have been pretty far off.

I drove off, ignoring what I'd just heard. Billy gave me all of about 5 seconds of peace before he started questioning me.

"So what did that guy want that you were talking to? He seemed kind of off to me."

"I have no idea. He said he's Sam's brother and he came to take over Sam's place as Alpha, but when I told him that I was the Alpha, he ran off." I said this with what I'm guessing was a puzzled and annoyed expression on my face.

I must have guessed right. "That's odd. Don't let it get you down kiddo, he ran off, he can't be much of a threat if he backs down from a fight." He replied back, with that reassuring smile parents always give their kids to make them feel better.

"Yeah I know. I shouldn't let this get to me, but there's something about him that makes me feel like he's going to be back." I said, still kind of unsure.

"If he comes back, deal with it then. There's nothing we can do now." He said back.

There was a calm silence the rest of the drive home. He didn't seem to have much more to add, and I didn't really feel like talking about it anymore.

I looked out my bedroom window and thought I heard the howl again. I felt a shiver run down my spine, but I shook it off and went to sleep, trying not to think about what happened or what may happen soon enough. I think it would be better for everyone to just shrug it off and go on pretending it didn't happen. And on that note, I fell asleep.


	3. Alien abduction

**Ok I'm so sorry that this took me so long to post! I've had no time what-so-ever to write or read! But I'm back now and I'm going to try my hardest to get my new chapters out as soon as possible! This one is longer than my other ones so I hope that makes up for it!**

**Thank you so much to my reviewers: Sourcherry01, emmettsmyfave, I Am Switzerland101,****Ava0Abney0and0Aubrey0Ambler****. I can't get over the fact that people actually like my stories! It's such an amazing feeling! Love you all!!!**

"I hate this game!" Embry cried out in frustration after losing another hand.

"Aw! Poor Embry! He's sad because he is probably the world's worst poker player." Quil said sarcastically, while wiping his eyes of fake tears and stomping his foot up and down.

We all broke out in laughter at Quil's imitation of Embry. Even Maggie was laughing at him. He started pouting, making us all laugh even more.

"Ok, ok enough of the 'Let's all make fun of Embry' game" he grumbled.

"Hey guys! Come check this out!" Seth came in running. His face was in an unusual mask of confusion and curiosity.

He ran out to the woods and the pack and I followed him. He led us deep into the woods, past where any normal person would wander to. We were all starting to get impatient and confused when he finally stopped.

We all looked around, but it looked just like any normal forest to me.

"Ok Seth. What is it?" Paul said, in his usual grumpy voice.

"Look!" he said, while pointing to a tree. There seemed to be claw marks drawn on it.

"Ok someone scratched a tree. What's the catch?" asked Leah, with mild curiosity in her voice.

"Can't you see? It's not someone from our pack!" he said, upset that we apparently didn't understand the importance of these particular scratches.

"What do you mean it's not one of us?" Sam asked.

"It's probably just a bear or an animal or something. What's the big deal?" Jared said.

"No! It's not another animal! It's on of us, but not one of _us_." He said this so passionately, as if it were so simple that we were stupid to not be able to figure it out.

Apparently we were, because no one knew for the life of us what the hell he was talking about.

"Enough with the word games, what's with the claw marks?" I asked.

"Ugh! It's a wolf from some other pack! Can't you smell it? It smells just like us, but it isn't any of our scents." He said, happy to finally get out what he was trying to say.

He seemed even more pleased when a look of understanding passed each of our faces.

"Well if it's not us, then who else can it be?" Brady mumbled. He sounded like he could have been talking to himself, which he might have been. He doesn't really like to share his opinions throughout the pack.

"Yeah who else can it be?" Collin retorted, agreeing with Brady.

"Matt" Sam whispered, trying not to let anyone hear him, but failing thanks to each of us having super-wolf hearing.

No one has said anything about that since it's happened. We all tried to forget about it and go on with everything, but Sam couldn't. He kept claiming to have 'a bad vibe about this guy'.

Everyone started to have recognition drawn clearly on their faces. There was a slight wave of panic that floated through the pack. It wasn't a lot, but enough for me to notice.

"Come on guys. I bet there's no wolf pack that's out to get us." I said, trying to calm everyone down.

And failing.

"No Jake. Sam's got a point. What if what Matt was saying is all true? Do you think it could have been him?" asked Jared, nervous and curious.

"It's not Matt. I would have remembered his scent. Its close, like all of ours are close, but it's not him." Seth said with clarity, glad to be the one with the answers.

"Well is there any sort of trail?" asked Collin, eager for something exciting to do.

"There's nothing. It's as if he left this one mark and then disappeared." said Seth.

"Maybe he was abducted by aliens?" Quil said. "You know how they have those TV shows where they feature the crazy people who claim to have seen alien UFO's? Maybe they're not so crazy."

Even though this was a tense moment, no one could resist starting to hysterically laugh at Quil's idiocy at that moment.

"I think you're the crazy one Quil! Do you even hear what you're saying?" Embry asked. He was still laughing, so it came out between fits of laughter, breaths, and the occasional snort.

"Yes I hear what I'm saying," Quil grumbled, realizing just now how stupid he sounded.

"Its ok man. I don't think there are any aliens out there, but there's got to be something." I said, reassuringly. He smiled back in thanks.

"Ok guys, so what do you think it is then? That is, if it's not aliens," said Seth, still wanting to solve this mystery. I was starting to feel like Scooby-Doo and the gang, putting together all of the clues and finding the bad guy.

"I don't know; it could be anything. It doesn't do us any good for us all to just stand around though. Let's just have a couple of people hang around to see if we can find more. The rest can go back home," I said. I hated being the Alpha and having to order the pack around, so I added, "Does anyone want to willingly volunteer?"

As expected, Seth volunteered, with much more enthusiasm was probably needed, but that's Seth for you.

What surprised me though was not that Embry and Brady had volunteered. It was that Sam had.

"Sam, are you sure?" I said cautiously. I didn't want to seem mean, but he seemed very on edge about the whole Matt situation. I thought he would take this opportunity to sit out, but I guess not.

"I'm sure. If there's anything going on with this Matt character I want to know about it," he said with about as much confidence as can be expected.

"Alrightly then. Let's go!" said Seth. He was so eager to research more of this. He seemed like he might explode, and not in the wolf way.

"Ok good luck you guys!" said Quil, probably eager to go find Claire.

The rest of the pack left and it was just the 5 of us left. We started to strip down and phase. Once we were all wolf, Seth started to explain the whole story.

"_So I was out patrolling and what not when I passed the tree. I figured at first it was just a result of one of Paul's outbursts or something. When I got closer I smelt something different than Paul though."_

He paused, most likely for dramatic effect.

"_I went up and it smelled just like us, except, it wasn't any of the scents from our pack. I wasn't sure what it was, so then I came and found you guys."_

"_Well there are only so many things that can make scratches in a tree that high up. There's us, bears, and probably leeches can manage that too," _said Brady.

"_It definitely isn't a leech. It doesn't have that nasty sweet smell at all," _replied Embry.

"_Well if it is a wolf, then let's see if we can find a trail. Maybe it will lead us to something," _I said back. I was hoping that this would be easily figured out, but now I wasn't too sure of it.

"_Whoever did make those scratches obviously wants us to know about them, but they don't want us to reveal themselves just yet. They did a really good job of that too,"_ said Brady, thinking logically about this. He's the cleverest out of all of us. If there's something that looks like it may be suspicious, he can usually figure it out.

Sam was looking off into space, not seeming to be paying much attention to everything around him.

"_Hey Sam, you okay? You haven't said a word since we've phased,"_ I asked, concerned. Sam's never this quiet or reserved. Especially in times of crisis like this, he is usually the main person to step up and try to figure out a plan. He would be a much better Alpha that me. He was a much better Alpha than me.

"_Yea I'm fine. I think I just kinda spaced out there. I heard you guys though. So let's go find that trail,"_ he said, with little to no emotion showing through. Most likely he doesn't want anyone to see that Sam, Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected, is nervous. He wasn't fooling me though.

"_Ok Seth. Which way should we go?"_ Embry asked, excited for something to do besides stand around.

"_I was heading west when I passed it, and I didn't see or smell anything. I'd say let's start going west from here," _said Seth. He sounded like a professional tracker. It was strange, but I let him have his fun.

"_Ok west it is then," _I replied. _"Let's go."_

We all started going west. We split up a little so that there was a good distance between each of us. Whatever this wolf thing was, it's very good at covering its scent.

"_Anyone find anything?"_ I asked.

"_Nothing here."_

"_Same here."_

"_I got nothing."_

"_This is hopeless. How are we supposed to find this mysterious whatever you want to call it? We don't even know what we're looking for!"_ Sam exclaimed. He was obviously frustrated, but I doubt it was the hopeless search that put him in this mood.

"_Sam what's wrong? You're obviously upset with something. Tell us man,"_ I said, trying to be sensitive, so as not to set him off again.

He sighed. _"There's something going on with this Matt person, and I have a feeling it could be really bad for the pack. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of this," _Sam said. He was finally starting to soften up after his past few days being super stiff. I guess they're right when they say it's good to get things off your chest.

"_Look Sam, I know this is all really suspicious and what not, but we don't know what's going to happen. Maybe it was just a freak coincidence that he stopped by, and then we find these markings. Maybe it's a sign. Who knows? We just have to play it by ear and see how it all goes,"_ said Embry. He knew how to calm down a visibly stressed out person. We all used to tease him and tell him that he should work as a masseuse, but he turned that idea down real fast.

"_Yea I know I'm probably overreacting. But there's something about him that I can't get over. It's not just that fact that he knew of the pack or how he thought I was still the Alpha. He knows my father. His father is my father. How can that even be?"_ he slumped down and lay with his head in his paws.

"_Aw! I think Sam need a group hug!"_ said Seth. Where that boy got some of his crazy ideas I'll never know.

"_Um Seth, how are we supposed to hug as big furry animals?"_ asked Brady, trying to make Seth think about the absurdity of the statement.

"_Hm. I guess I didn't think about that part,"_ he said, obviously upset with the flaw in his idea.

"_Its okay dude,"_ I said, cheering him up.

"_Okay, okay, enough emotional stuff. Can we go back now?"_ Embry asked.

"_Yea sure let's go. I'm beat,"_ I said back.

We all ran back to town, phased and changed. Once we stepped out of the trees and onto the beach, we could see the last of the sun going down. It was a huge orange globe, falling into the depths of the dark ocean water. The sky was still red, but starting to fade into its usual midnight blue color for the night.

"Wow, look at that." I whispered, so as not to disturb the stillness of the moment.

There were people stretched out all over the beach, watching the sunset. There were families here watching it together, tourists mostly. Couples were sprawled out on beach blankets, sharing a kiss with the romantic atmosphere surrounding them. It was a sweet thing for most people, but I couldn't find it in me to feel that way.

"Come on guys. Let's get back home.''

We started to walk back towards the houses, but on the way I couldn't help but wonder why life seemed to be lining up for everyone. Puzzle pieces click and memories made. Everyone seemed to be going on with life the way it was supposed to be.

So why can't I?


	4. Hide and Seek

**Sorry this took awhile. Life got in the way. I hope you can understand. Forgive me please! But this chapter is really long this time. I'm making it up to you guys! 11 pages on Microsoft word!!!**

**Thank you a million times over to Laheba Alam, emmettsmyfave, and I Am Switzerland101 for being absolutely amazing people and leaving reviews! **

**Again, I'm on a beta hunt, so if anyone wants to volunteer, or they know anyone who is looking for a story to beta, recommendations are very welcome! Okay, now on with the story!!**

It's been a week, and we still haven't learned anything else about this mysterious wolf of ours. Just when I thought it might get quiet around here, BAM! Here comes this whole fiasco.

Brady, Jared and I were on patrol. Brady and I were helping Jared figure out how he should propose to Kim.

"_It's been almost three years. I know our anniversary is coming up next month, should I wait until then, and have it fall on a special date? Or do you think she'll want to have them be on separate days, so we don't celebrate them on the same day?"_ Jared said, sounding like this was a life or death matter and if he did something wrong Kim would leave him. And that definitely won't happen.

"_I think, first, you need to calm down. Second, I think it would be good to do it on the same day, because she won't be suspicious as to why you guys are going wherever you're going to propose to her. And I don't think Kim is the kind of person to throw a fit about something like the dates being the same,"_ said Brady, going all couple-analyst on us again. He really is useful with the crazy imprint problems that arise within the pack.

"_Yeah, she would probably like that. It will also be easier for her to just remember one date, so she doesn't get confused on which ones which,"_ he said, sounding slightly more positive.

"_See there we go, one part figured out. Now, do you have a ring yet?"_ I asked. I fully trusted that Jared would have the ring by now. Knowing him he's had it for a while, but just hasn't done anything with it yet.

"_Yup, I had Emily and Maggie help me with it. Emily somehow found out her ring size. I have no idea how she did that without making Kim suspicious, but that's the magic of Emily. And they came with me to the store and made sure I didn't pick out a 'tacky and tasteless hunk of sparkly rock',"_ he said, trying to mimic Maggie's voice at the end, but failing horribly, causing Brady and I to start cracking up.

"_Okay good," _I said once I could properly respond. I could just tell, had Jared been standing right in front of me I would have gotten a death glare right about now. _"So now where is this going to happen?"_

"_I was thinking of taking her to the restaurant she told me that her mom, Emma, always used to take her to. It's a really nice restaurant and it means a lot to her. A lot of her memories of her mom are of them at that restaurant, because Emma worked there while Kim was a little kid, and she would go visit her mom at work. She told me she hasn't been in years, and I wanted to take her there sometime anyway."_ He said, thoughtfulness showing through his tone.

By the end of his little speech, I could see how much thought he has put into this decision and how much he really cares about Kim. Not that I ever doubted it or anything, but it just makes you realize how strong imprinting can be.

"_I think that's really nice. Kim will definitely appreciate that. Especially after that whole mess with her mom anyway. Do you know if the place is still open?"_ I asked.

"_They apparently have a website and I looked it up and got the times that it's open and everything. It's in Port Angeles, so it's not too far, and they are open on the day we would go,"_ he said, finally starting to be more sure of himself.

"_I think she'll love it, and she loves you, no doubt about that, so stop worrying, it'll all turn out great. I bet you when you do it, she'll be ecstatic," _Brady said, trying to add in his two cents. **(Is that how you say it?)**

"_Yeah you're right,"_ Jared said. _"Hey guys, come over here! I think I might have a trail to that wolf scent again,"_ he said, both excited to be off the subject of himself and because we might have found what we've been looking for the past week.

"_Okay, keep following it until we catch up with you. I should be there in a minute,"_ I said.

"_I'll be there in a minute too,"_ Brady replied.

"_Okay guys, the trail's leading me down South. It's going right on the border of the Cullen territory and the Makah rez. It's almost as if he is going there on purpose too,"_ Jared said.

"_Well than whomever it is knows the borders. Is it the same scent from the tree last week? Or is it a new one?"_ I asked, trying to be alpha-ish, and probably failing miserably.

"_It's the same one, except for the fact that it seems stronger,"_ Jared stated.

"_What seems stronger? The scent?"_ Brady asked, confusion coloring his tone.

"_Well the scent is stronger too, but I meant that it seems like the person carrying the scent feels stronger that it did on the tree. Does that make sense to anyone?"_ Jared asked, trying to clarify his statement.

"_I think I get what you're trying to say, in a twisted sort of way. That doesn't make any sense though. How can you tell that it's stronger by its scent?"_ said Brady.

"_I don't know if it's stronger, just a guess,"_ Jared said, proving his point.

"_I guess I understand what you mean. Again, it seems like this person wants us to be on the look out for them, but not know of them yet. But I think there's more on this trail that might lead us to something. Let's follow it,"_ I said.

We started chasing the trail southeast until we were practically at Tacoma, and then north until we hit Seattle, and then around in crazy directions throughout the Olympic National Park. This wolf creature obviously knew what he was doing while sending us on this little rendezvous and trying to distract us from it all, or he was insanely drunk. We finally came to a stop in a little deserted area almost near Port Angeles.

"_The trail only leads to the cliffs, and then stops. What do we do now?"_ Brady asked, confused. We all were really. This just doesn't make any sense, they can't just keep disappearing.

"_I know. It's all really strange. Why don't we search the cliffs for anywhere they could've hidden. It couldn't hurt right? We already went this whole way,"_ I said, trying to stay positive, but really after running for two hours after a lost trail, it's kind of hard to keep your hopes up.

"_Brady, check around the left side of the beach. See if there's anything out of the ordinary. Jared, you take the right. I'll go for the cliffs and behind them. There's no one around, so I think were safe to go around as wolves."_

We searched for what seemed like a hopeless cause when suddenly I saw something silver move out of the corner of my eye.

I turned around, and I first I was disappointed because it was just a bird. But when the bird flew under the cliff and didn't seem to come back I became curious.

I looked over the edge, and sure enough, there was a cave inside the cliffs. I was so happy that I might have actually found something that I almost howled out loud for joy. Of course, that would have been disastrous and stupid, so I stopped myself before any noises came out of my mouth.

"_Hey guys, I think I found something. Come over here and check it out,"_ I called out to them.

They came over, and as we looked back down at the cave below us, I could've sworn I saw a shadow moving inside.

There was no way to get down there as wolves, so I thought of maybe the next best thing.

"_The cave seems to be practically level with the water now. If we go as humans and jump down, we can probably get inside. We should go one at a time just in case though. Any volunteers?"_ I asked, being in charge and what not, but not wanting to order people around.

When no one willingly volunteered right away, I took it as my cue to take over.

"_Okay I'll go,"_ I said. I phased, and put on pants. I almost decided against them, because they would get wet in the water anyway, but if there are people down there I don't need them seeing that part of me.

I was about to jump down when I turned to Jared and Brady, still phased, behind me.

"Okay guys. I'm going down, but if you hear me give a signal, come down, because that probably means there's more down there than I'd like to handle by myself and the situation is making a turn for the worst," I said, trying not to show that I was a little nervous about doing this.

They both just nodded there heads, because they can't really talk to me right now.

I jumped off and once I hit the water I realized that it is completely insane to be in the ocean in late February. Of course, it wasn't as bad with my 109 degree temperature, but it was cold enough for me to still feel it.

I came up to the surface about 30 seconds later, and opened my eyes about 10 seconds after that because of the salt water stinging my eyes. I slowly looked towards the cliff and saw the cave. It was bigger that I thought. I swam up and looked up over the edge before fully going in. What I saw completely shocked me.

Inside there was a small fire. When I say small I mean extremely small. It was about 1/3 of the size of any camp fire I've ever seen. Of course this wasn't the strangest thing. Sitting around that camp fire were 2 normal looking girls, obviously of Native American descent, and 6 huge guys. They looked very similar to us size wise and structure wise. Among these 6 huge guys, much to my dismay, was Matt.

I gasped, almost inaudible, but they heard me. They must have super hearing because the two girls didn't turn until they saw everyone else turn my way.

I decided that, now that I've been caught, I might as well come out of the water. So I hopped up and into the cave. All of the men gave me glares while the two women sat there in confusion, looking at the big guys around them for answers. The slightly shorter girl turned to a burly looking one, holding on to his arm. The other girl looked right at Matt.

"Um hi," I said. _Way to start a conversation Jacob. Why do you always make situations strange and awkward?_

"Hello again. You're Jacob right?" Matt asked, taking a step closer to me.

"Yeah that's me. And who are you guys?" I asked, hoping to learn more about them without this being too difficult.

"I hope you didn't forget me Jacob, that would just be sad," Matt teased, being overly dramatic and downright annoying.

"I remember you Matt. I meant the rest of your... uh pack..." I trailed off, not sure if I should refer to them as a pack or not.

"Oh well this is Nick, Jay, Duncan, Kevin, and Tyler," he said while pointing to each of the guys standing around him. "This is Hannah, Nick's girlfriend," he said, pointing to the shorter girl who was holding on to who I just learned to be Nick's arm. "And Allison, my little sister," he said while wrapping a protective arm around the taller girl.

I was looking at each of them, trying to see if I could figure out which scent was the one we had been following. They were all so close to me I couldn't really tell them apart too well, but so far I have a feeling it was Tyler.

I was looking between the two girls when the one, Allison, shrugged out of Matt's arms. He looked upset at first, but just decided to let it go I guess. Then she looked over towards me.

I swear in that moment I stopped breathing. My heart stopped beating and my mind completely shut down. The moment she looked into my eyes I was gone. It was the most incredible feeling. I felt as if I was floating, like a cloud, and she was holding me up there, staring at me with these amazing hazel green eyes. She was the most beautiful and amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I could have sworn I had just died and gone to heaven when I heard someone clear their throat. Quite loudly and rudely if I do say so myself.

I looked over to the one named Jay, who was apparently the one who just ruined my moment of pure bliss.

"So what are you doing here anyway?" he asked, obviously unhappy with there being a complete stranger in their secluded hiding spot.

"I was following a scent that led to here. It was near our reservation and we didn't want to have anything suspicious roaming around in our woods," I said, trying to explain myself, while I didn't really have much of a clue in the first place.

"Well, how nice of you to drop in then. Come sit down, you must have run a long way," Matt said, sounded very creepy and suspicious. I didn't trust this guy one bit.

"Um, I actually don't think I have much time to just sit around and talk. I want to ask you though about some scratches we found on a tree and what you said to us at the beach," I said, looking between Matt and Allison the whole time. Matt because he was most likely the one to answer me, and Allison because I couldn't keep my eyes off of her.

"Okay, what about it?" he asked, clearly calm about this whole situation.

"Well, it was one of you that left the large scratch marks in a tree in the woods near our reservation right? And what you told us about how you guys are the same as us is true as well?" I asked, trying to calmly dissect all that there was to this whole scenario.

"Well of course everything I told you was true. What? You don't believe me Jacob? And yes, I believe that was Tyler. I'm sorry about him, he has a little bit of a short fuse, if you know what I mean," Matt replied.

"I just wanted to clarify. You led us on the trail that took us here too?" I hopefully asked. I thought I was finally figuring out some things.

"Again, that was Tyler. I don't see why this is such a big deal, so if that's all you have to say, than please leave," Matt said, suddenly giving me a cold stare. I barely noticed this though, as I was somewhat preoccupied with looking at Allison, who was staring back at me, but with a very different expression on her face than mine. Matt looked down at Allison before bringing his attention back to me.

I thought about leaving at first, but something was keeping me in this cave. It was so strong, almost like a thousand super strong bloodsuckers holding me down. It was keeping me in place, staying in here with these strange werewolves and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life.

And as much as I wanted to stay here with her, I knew that this was not my place and I had to go.

"Well than, before I go I simply want to ask you to stay off our lands. We don't want other creatures roaming through our reservation. I hope you can understand," I said, hoping I sounded as peace-treaty as Sam usually does when he was the Alpha and had to deal with these situations.

"Oh, well we'll do our best, but I can't promise anything for sure," Matt replied. He sounded so mischievous and it was starting to test my patience.

"No, you will not _do your best._ You_ will_ keep out of Quileute lands," I said. I wanted to sound intimidating, so that they would understand that I wasn't playing around. My patience was gone by now and I was starting to tremble slightly. I looked up to see Nick and Matt put the girls behind them. Allison looked up at me with slightly frightened, slightly annoyed eyes. I think she was annoyed with Matt's over protectiveness, but she was frightened of me. I never want that to happen. Ever. As soon as I saw those eyes I immediately stopped shaking.

"Okay okay we won't go on Quileute land anymore," said the one I remembered to be Duncan. He looked just plain tired of the whole situation and probably only saying that to get me to leave. Of course I wasn't that gullible though.

"Yes, you will stay out of Quileute land. We'd better not see, hear, or smell any of you near our land again," I said.

"Yes we heard you the first time, now leave our cave at once," said Matt.

I looked to Allison to see her starting to walk back towards the fire. She sat down and looked at me one last time. I savored that moment and memorized everything I could about the way she looked before I stepped out of the cave and into the water.

I swam around to the shore to see Jared and Brady, still in wolf form, waiting for me.

I stripped and phased, glad to be out of human form. It was starting to become way too stressful.

"_So did you guys hear most of that?"_ I asked, not wanting to have to repeat it now, knowing I would have to with the rest of the pack later anyway.

"_I think we caught most of it. What happened during that minute or so that it was silent though. At first I thought you had attacked, but then someone cleared their throat and then there was talking again,"_ Brady asked, trying to clarify the events of my crazy conversation.

I showed them the whole thing while we ran back home: The introductions, them confessing it was them who left the scratch marks, and me telling them to keep away. I was hoping they wouldn't notice I edited a huge part in the middle, but of course they did.

"_What happened with the girl?"_ Jared asked, turning a little more into a teenage boy. I had to smile a little at this, but of course the main reason I was smiling was because of Allison.

They noticed this and of course pressed me for more information. I couldn't really resist. After all, I wanted to relive it myself anyways.

I reluctantly showed them the whole moment. I showed them how I felt, how incredible it was, and how amazing she was. I could barely describe it. I kept picturing her long face with the gorgeous hazel green eyes, her soft dark chocolate hair that flowed to a little bit below her shoulders. I couldn't stop thinking about her, but Jared's comment brought me back to the present. Really fast.

"_Congrats on the imprint dude! I'm so happy for you!"_ Jared exclaimed. Of course this is one of those completely unexpected, uncalled for comments that, when characters in movies have drinks, they spit it all over the table.

"_WHAT? Imprint? You think I imprinted on her?"_ I asked, completely dumb founded. That thought hadn't even crossed my mind. Until now of course.

"_Well yeah, you obviously did. That's the same feeling I had when I first saw Kim. Don't worry man this is a good thing, you should be happy about it,"_ Jared said, obviously smiling and completely ecstatic that there was another person who imprinted in the pack.

Imprinted. I imprinted on her? Allison is my imprint?

Oh shit...

**Sooo how'd you guys like the imprint? I don't know if I'm not too crazy about this chapter, but I like it. Please tell me what you thought! If there's anything that's wrong with grammar or you think just doesn't flow right or needs more explanation tell me!! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!!! **

**REVIEW!! Pretty please with a cherry on top!**


	5. Denial

**Ok so first off, Thank you to my new Beta, emmettsmyfave!!! She's pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.**

**Thank you to I Am Switzerland101, emmettsmyfave, guttacritic, Alexia-Faith, and ****Ava0Abney0and0Aubrey0Ambler**** for your reviews!!!!!**

Brady, Jared and I ran back to the reservation. I figured the rest of the pack needed to hear what we just found out. As we were running up the steps to Sam and Emily's house, the door opened for us.

"Hey guys! I saw you coming. Its 10 o'clock at night, what are you doing here now?" Sam asked, holding the door open for us. I hadn't even realized it had gotten so late.

"Call up the rest of the pack. We need to have a pack meeting now," Jared said, sounding a lot calmer than I felt right about now. Then again, that could be because I just realized I imprinted and I pretty much ran away from her.

"Hello boys. How are you?" Emily called from the kitchen, making us feel at home. Even though Sam wasn't the Alpha anymore, Emily still acted like our pack mother, and we all treated her that way, too.

"I don't know about Jake here, but I'm doing pretty okay," Brady replied coolly.

"What's wrong, Jake? Did something happen while you guys were out? Is there a vampire out there?" Sam asked, sounding nervous but holding on to his calm façade, like always.

"I'll explain when everyone gets here," I retorted, not meaning for it to come out harsh but can you really blame me? I just found out I imprinted on the sister of my enemy.

"I'll call them up," we heard Emily reply.

We all went outside to the forest out back. I stripped and phased, and the other 3 were right behind me. One by one we could feel the others phase along with us. Once the final members of the pack arrived, about twenty minutes later, I realized they were all waiting on me to say something.

"_Okay, so I think we finally found out what, or rather who, made the marks in that tree last week,"_ I said, keeping my mind clear.

"_There's a pack of wolves. We found them in a cave in a deserted little beach near Port Angeles. They knew we were looking for them and that we would follow them..."_

I continued to explain everything to them. I told them how we followed them, how I went into the cave that would probably be impossible to get to without jumping in the water, about everything Matt said to me and what I said to him. They all tried to keep expressions off of their faces, but sometimes they leaked through. I could tell no one really liked this situation, and that no one really seemed to like Matt and his pack either.

Again, I tried my hardest to keep my thoughts away from Allison while relaying the story, but of course, it leaked out.

"_So who is she?"_ Quil asked, sounding like he was implying something. I don't think I want to know what though.

"_Its Matt's sister. He seemed pretty protective of her, although I don't think she really liked it too much."_ I tried to keep my voice sounding neutral, so I wouldn't lead them to think anything else.

Apparently I failed with that attempt._ "Ooo! Jakey's got a crush!!"_ Collin sang, earning him a chuckle from all of the members of the pack except me. I simply glared in his direction, not wanting to give away how much of an understatement that really was.

"_Don't be embarrassed Jake. She's pretty hot, if I do say so myself,"_ Embry said, raising his eyebrows up and down. While that could have looked like a suggestive gesture in human form, while he was a wolf he just looked stupid.

I was so close to jumping on him right now. Brady and Jared looked like they were getting ready to restrain me, but I stopped my self at the last second.

"_Well I think it's a little more that a crush, right Jake?"_ Jared said. At this, I couldn't help but let out a small growl in Jared's direction. Did he not understand that once I tell the pack, it will make it all the more true. I didn't want it to be. I couldn't imprint. It can't be happening!

"_Imprint? You imprinted on her?"_ Sam asked, sounding shocked but happy at the same time. The rest of the pack looked just as stunned, although they seemed like they were happy for me too.

"_No! No I didn't imprint! I can't imprint! It's not happening, especially not with her!"_ I cried out in frustration.

Everyone seemed surprised by my little outburst, but the look wore off as soon as it appeared.

"_It happened buddy. Hate to break it to you, but she is indeed your imprint,"_ Paul said, not sounding at all upset to tell me what I was dreading to hear.

"_Well we can always test it, make sure it's really an imprint and not just some weird intensive feeling for her,"_ Brady suggested. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement while I looked down in embarrassment and anger.

"_How do we test it exactly?"_ Seth asked what everyone else was probably thinking.

"_Oh it's pretty simple really. Just follow my lead,"_ Brady demanded.

All of a sudden thoughts of Allison filled my mind. They were coming from Brady. She was just standing there, looking her beautiful, amazing self. She was standing on the edge of the cliff I jumped off of to get to the cave. Her dark chocolate hair was blowing behind her in the wind, her face pointing up towards the sky. Her eyes were closed as if in deep concentration. I was enjoying this picture, watching her, looking as gorgeous as ever. All of a sudden, Matt appeared behind her. He whispered something in her ear that made her frown. I didn't like it; I wanted her to be happy. Then she turned around and smacked him in the face, as if what he said was the most horrible thing mentionable. He didn't like this too much and started vibrating like a cell phone receiving a call. All of a sudden there was a large, horse sized wolf standing where Matt used to be. But there was no Allison. She had jumped back from surprise and went right off the cliff.

What happened next is something I wish I didn't do. As if my body was disconnected from my brain, I leaped up from where I was, caught between murdering Matt and Brady, and saving Allison. Once the image disappeared from my mind, I chose Brady. Mid leap though, I was prevented form doing so by three other wolves. They pinned me to the ground and I let them hold me there, breathing heavily and angrily through my nose.

I don't know what came over me. I'm not usually a violent person. It was like an out of body experience. And its not as if I have anything held against Brady. How could I have just attacked him out of no where! What kind of Alpha am I anyways! A horrible one, that's what. My self-loathing rant was interrupted by Sam.

"_Well, I think we just found our answer,"_ he said flatly.

"_No you didn't. That doesn't prove anything. It only shows that I wanted to save her life, because I'm not sadistic! And it could prove that I despise this Matt creature, but it doesn't prove that I imprinted,"_ I said, frustrated. It couldn't be true, it's not true.

"_Well I have an idea that might make you, shall we say, see the light?"_ Seth said. There was something in his voice that made me nervous as to what he was up to. Lord only knows what kind of crazy things go on in that boy's head.

And then all I could see was Bella. Every memory I had of Bella flashed through my mind. From the first time I saw her at the beach with her friends, to her wedding with the mobile, mind reading ice sculpture. I saw the memory of her when Sam found her in the woods after the bloodsucker left her, when she came up to see me and she would sit on our drift wood log on First Beach. Lastly, was her broken face when I saved her from jumping off the cliff. It made me sad to see all of the images from her, but surprisingly I didn't feel the excessive depression and longing for her that I normally did when ever someone even mentioned Bella's name.

The pack took this as a final sign and Seth stopped pushing me down memory lane. They all stood, staring at me, as if I would crack at any moment. They didn't seem to know what to say, so I decided I should.

"_Well... Stop with the silence! It's kind of freaking me out right now!"_

Once again, Sam was the first one to speak up, _"I'm sorry Jacob, but it's true. And it's not like it's a bad thing. Imprinting should be a positive feeling, not negative."_

Now I know he was trying to be reassuring and helpful and whatnot, but at that point I really couldn't sit there anymore and listen to them.

"_Yeah, yeah ok. I'm going to go home and make sure Billy doesn't think I ran away,"_ I said. Then I ran off into the woods in the direction of my house. Once I got to the woods behind my house and saw the lights were on inside, I phased and changed.

I walked up the steps and through my back door. Realizing I as home and no one could hear my thoughts, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey dad I'm home!" I called out, hoping he could hear me over the TV.

"Hey kiddo!" he called out as I walked into the living room. "Where've you been? I thought your patrol ended hours ago," he asked, trying to sound as if it weren't that important, because Billy doesn't really like showing emotions. Since I've lived with him for the past 19 years, I knew worry in my dad's voice when I hear it.

"Yeah, but Jared, Brady and I were following the trail of the scent that made the marks on that tree last week. We were just telling the pack about what we found," I responded, knowing that if I didn't tell him, he would find out about it from someone, and he would probably be a little upset that I didn't tell him.

"Oh ok. Were you guys careful? What did you find?" he replied, worried still, but trying to hide it.

"It's fine dad. There is apparently another pack around here. We followed them to Port Angeles and I told them to stay out of La Push territory," I briefed, not wanting to replay the whole thing for a third time tonight.

"Ok. Nice job boy. I'm proud of you, you know? I know you aren't proud of yourself, but you should be. You're doing a good job, whether you want to admit it or not," he stated. He sounded so sincere; I couldn't dismiss the honesty in his statement. I could feel the proudness radiating off him, even from across the room.

"Thanks dad," I said shyly. I glanced over at the clock, surprised by the time. Man time really does fly when you're denying your true love for a stranger to your friends as huge canines.

"Come on, it's late. Let's get to bed," I said, helping Billy off the couch and into his chair. He tried to shrug off my help, but I knew that he was tired and wanted the help. He went into his room to go to bed while I continued down the hall towards my room.

As I was getting into bed I finally let all the thoughts I had been suppressing all day hit me.

I thought about Matt and his pack and what they were doing in Port Angeles if they lived in Idaho. I thought about how they knew to lead us all over Washington State when they really were only half hour away at most. I thought about the packs' reaction to them and what happened in the cave today. But mostly, I thought about Allison.

Could I have imprinted on her? How could that even be possible?!? I thought imprinting was supposed to be rare. Now it seems to be popping up left and right, everyone imprinting all the time! I can't stand it!

But what does she think of me? She probably doesn't like me, because I pretty much threatened her brother and friends. But she hadn't looked like she hated me. She didn't really show much emotion towards me at all. I also probably looked like a fool, staring at her like that. I bet she thinks I'm a freak! Or maybe she knows about imprinting. Does she know that I imprinted on her? If so she didn't acknowledge it at all. Ugh! This girl is confusing me to no end!

But then again, I don't even know anything about her. She doesn't know anything about me. I'm sure she guessed that I'm a werewolf, but other than that she knows nothing! All I know is her name and her relation to Matt and where she lives. Or, I guess lived for now. I don't even know how freakin' old she is! The only thing I know is that...

I think I'm in love with her.

I woke up the next morning to an earthquake. A very loud, obnoxious, warm earthquake.

I opened my eyes to see Quil and Embry on either side of my bed, taking turns jumping up onto it. I was trying to mock glare at them, but I really couldn't do it with the look on both of their faces right now.

"What are you guys doing? Am I not allowed to sleep or something?" I asked.

"Well firstly, we were waking you up by jumping on your bed. And yes you're allowed to sleep, but not at 9 o'clock on a Monday morning," Quil said sounding cheery and awake. His mood was infectious and I started smiling.

"See? There we go! Now get up! We have to get to Emily's before all of the food is gone!" Embry yelled. He sounded so serious I might have actually believed it if it weren't for the shit-eating grin covering his entire face.

"Okay okay let me get dressed and then we'll go," I said while jumping out of bed a grabbing the first pair of shorts I felt in my drawer that smelled clean.

I kicked them out of my room, threw on my clothes and then rushed out of the room, hoping to catch them by surprise.

"Last one there has to eat the burnt food!" I yelled while running out the door. Quil and Embry were sitting on the couch, not knowing what I was doing, but quickly caught on. They raced after me, but I was still ahead because of my head start. I ran all the way to Sam and Emily's and sat down in one of the chairs in the kitchen. Emily handed me a plate full of food at the same time Quil and Embry barged through the door.

"Ha! I win!" Quil said enthusiastically while Embry pouted, looking like a little kid who's mother just told them they couldn't have cookies for breakfast.

Everyone who was there started laughing at Embry's expression, even me. And that was all it took to bring me out of my sorrowful mood from last night.


	6. Strike 1

"Again! Again Quil! Again!"

"Okay Claire, we'll go again."

Now, hearing that, most people would expect the person in Quil's position to be annoyed, but go on playing with the kid anyway. Well, not Quil. He seemed just as happy as Claire to go up and down the slide, again and again and again.

Now this is where the arguments come in about the positive and negative effects of imprinting. Some people would say that it's great to feel completely devoted to one person, to feel like your complete with them, that they're your whole world.

But other people, people like me, think of the bad things about it. Some people would feel like they're chained to the other. Or maybe just that they don't want the commitment, or the fear of rejection. For me mostly, I despised imprinting simply for the fact that, even though there are extremely happy moments, those moments are short-lived.

I guess you could say I haven't been the most upbeat person the past few days. But I don't think that's at all my fault. It's all her fault. I'm so connected to her, but I keep getting all these mysterious and curious vibes about her and all of the people in the cave with her. I don't know what to make of it. It's driving me crazy!!!

But the thing is, with imprinting, everyone always just says, "Oh it will all work out in the end. Don't worry." But to me personally, that's bull. Life isn't a fairytale where your freaking fairy godmother comes down, turns your pet mice into horses, and waltzes you off to Prince Charming.

And I'll admit, with all the other members of the pack, they all seem happy with their imprints and what not. It's all worked out in past cases, so why not for me? Well I only have one good reason, and his name is Matt.

Ever since he showed up, life in La Push has been tough for everyone, probably Sam and I mostly. I imprinted on Matt's freaking sister and he finds out that he has a long lost brother! And as much as I want to kill him for all of the problems he's brought out amongst the pack, I simply couldn't. It would hurt her and as much as I hate it, I can't hurt her. I saw the way he looked down at her, protectively and brotherly and she looked  
at him like he was insane, but she knows she loves him anyway. But why can't she just love me?

Well I can probably answer that question. It's because I'm the freak who came into their hidden cave and threatened them. I wouldn't be surprised if she hated me. And though I don't want it to be true, I would be devastated if it was.

Embry's obnoxious clapping in my face brought me out of my trance.

"Come on Jake. We're going over to Sam and Emily's. It's raining, if you haven't noticed."

And I actually hadn't noticed. I was too busy with my self-loathing and too transfixed on how much my first impression must have screwed up my imprint.

The four of us started the short walk to Sam and Emily's. We were all pretty soaked by the time we got there, except for Claire who was kept dry by Quil. It wasn't long before our freakish body heat dried us off again though.

Other people were at the house already though. Emily was in the kitchen, and Kim and Maggie were helping her. Sam and Brady were watching some basketball game on TV and Paul and Jared were just sitting there talking.

We walked in a Quil followed Claire into the kitchen. Embry went to go watch the game and Maggie came out to join him, and I went to go join Paul and Jared.

When I sat down, Paul was talking about the bimbo that was following him around yesterday.

"I swear at first I thought she was some kind of FBI agent trying to hunt me down. But then when I looked at her she batted her eyelashes and tried to be all flirty with me; and she did a really bad job with it too. So I just kept walking and when I grabbed the corner to turn, I swear I heard her sign before I heard the loud bang. I looked to find her on the floor in front of a poster for that new shop in town with a giant red mark on her forehead. She was rubbing her head and staring at the sign as if to yell at it for being in her way and not moving for her. I had to run away so fast before I started laughing in her face!"

Jared and I were hysterical laughing by this point. This isn't the first time some girl followed Paul around like a whipped puppy dog. He's had plenty of others, but they never actually injured themselves in the process. Paul loved it though.

"Hey, I don't mind if the ladies want to enjoy the view. I can't charge them for that," Paul said suggestively with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Maggie winked once at Embry, and then walked over to Paul.

"Ooh Paul. You're so hot. I can't get over you muscles. Take me now Paul, take me now!" she breathed, being very over dramatic and running her hands down his arms. We all heard Embry growl before she walked over to him and gave him a quick peck before resuming her seat in his lap.

We were all laughing at Paul's dumbfounded expression. He seemed so confused and didn't know what to make of it all.

"You... him... me... and the...huh?" He scratched the top of his head, making him look like a monkey.

"It's a joke Paul. Not every girl is going to see you and automatically want to be in your pants," Jared explained.

"Okay, okay guys, enough picking on Paul. Dinner's ready," Emily called from her place in the doorway to the kitchen.

Of course the best way to move a pack of werewolves is to mention food, so naturally we all jumped up and raced to get some before it's all gone.

"Hey guys don't forget about the bonfire tomorrow," Sam called out to everyone. With our mouths currently occupied, we all mumbled our okays and nodded our heads, going right back to our food.

I glanced at the clock, just noticing the time. "Whoa, I got to go for patrol. I'll send Collin back; I think he should be done about now."

"Okay be careful Jake," Emily said sweetly. Even if I am the Alpha, Emily is still like a mother to all of the guys in the pack. I guess she just got so used to the role that she didn't want to give it up.

"I will don't worry Em." I ran out into Sam's backyard, stripped and phased.

_"Okay Collin, you can go back now. If you hurry there might actually be some food still there."_

"Okay thanks Jake!"

Patrol was going along just like it always does; nothing out of the ordinary. Leah was mumbling something to herself that neither Seth nor I bothered to try to understand. Seth was telling me about one of his friends in school who was having car troubles. Seth told him about the shop that Embry, Quil, and I run and suggested he go there. From what I saw in Seth's head, it didn't seem too bad. A couple of minor adjustments here and there and he'd be good to go again.

But then all of a sudden, the forest went dead silent. I couldn't hear any squirrels or deer running about, no birds calling, not even any crickets chirping. But then all of a sudden, the silence ended.

_BANG!_

I wiped around just in time to feel the breeze of a bullet pass by my muzzle. The next thing I know there are about three coming my way. I duck right and left, just barely avoiding each of them. So of course I did what anyone would do when they have a gun being shot at them. I ran.

I ran as fast as I could manage. I don't think I've ever run that fast. I might have even given Leah a run for her money with the way I was running.

I stopped for a second when I realized no one was following me. I looked all around, but I couldn't see or smell anything. How did I not notice them?

Just when I thought the coast was clear, I hear one last gun shot. I tried to dodge it, but it still hit me. I looked down at my leg to see the russet colored fur starting to turn red. I fell to the ground and howled out to Seth and Leah. Please let them hear it and come.

_"Leah, Seth, come here. There's someone out there and they hit me."_

"I heard the gun shots, but I didn't realize they were aiming at you! Are you okay Jake? Where are you? Were coming now, right Seth?"

"Yeah I'm headed there now."

"Okay. I'm kind of close to the border, on the farther east side."  
  
I laid there for another five minutes or so when I heard them approaching. I tried to stand back up, and it worked but I was a little wobbly.

_"Oh jeez Jake what happened?"_ Leah asked sounding concerned.

_"I didn't even hear them coming. I couldn't smell them either. I was patrolling and all of a sudden it was extremely quiet and then I heard the gun shots. I dodged them and then I ran. But when I realized no one was following I stopped. I looked around but I couldn't see, hear, or smell anything. And then another bullet shot, but I didn't have time to try and avoid this one so it hit. I called out to guys and now here we are."_

"Okay, I think we should take you to mom," Seth suggested.

_"Sure,"_ I agreed. Sue is like the pack's doctor. It's easier for her to check us out because our temperature or fast healing rate doesn't freak her out. She's a nurse at the hospital in Forks. None of us liked her working there when the head vamp was still there, but Sue assured us time and time again that he's fine and does great with his job.

Seth ran ahead to go tell his mom that I was coming and then call over to Sam's and to explain what happened. Leah stayed back with me. I don't know why, but it was oddly comforting. I had to hobble back and wasn't going to fast, but Leah slowed herself down anyway to keep up with me.

_"Thanks Leah. I don't know why you feel all protective of me and what not, but it's nice. A nice change from the other you,"_ I said, trying to start up conversation and be nice at the same time.

_"I don't have to be bitter all the time. I didn't choose to be that way. I still have a heart Jacob, and even if it's broken, I can still try and help people and care about them,"_ she snapped back. She was trying to hold on to her hard outer shell, but I could see it cracking.

_"I know, but still, thanks."_

"Whatever."  
  
We went the rest of the way in silence. By the time we reached the Clearwater house, everyone was there. And I'm not exaggerating when I say everyone. The whole pack and their imprints, Sue (of course), Charlie (who had apparently been over at Sue's house before to simply "hang out with her", but we all know they do much more than that), and of course, my dad.

I phased and changed, simply because Charlie was there and didn't know about all of this. Leah did too and she helped me hobble inside.

I wasn't even in the house for more than five seconds when I was bombarded with people fawning all over me. I mean, I know they care and stuff, but give a man his breathing room and a chance to get a bullet out of his leg before you start pouncing on him.

Thankfully, Sue saved me. "Okay let him through. Jacob, come sit down over here, we cleared a space for you."

She led me into the living room and onto the couch, which was covered in towels. I sat down and laid back as she told me to.

"Okay Jacob, the first thing we're going to do is take the bullet out."

I nodded to let her know I understood and she took that as her cue to continue. She took out a bunch of sterile, hospital looking stuff and carefully took it out. It hadn't gone too far in, which I was very grateful for. Then she proceeded to clean it and patch it up.

When she finished she stood up and brushed off her hands. "Well Jacob there you go. Normally I would say you should be good as new in a few weeks, but for you I'd say give it a week or so and you'd be fine. Just try not to," she paused, looking at Charlie so as not to let him in on anything, "run around too much. Sometimes just walking around on two legs is hard enough," she said with a wink.

I knew what she was talking about, but thankfully Charlie didn't. I was glad she had fixed me up, but now that she was finished, I had to face everyone else in the room. Wonderful.

Sue, realizing that we probably couldn't discuss all this in the presence of Charlie, whispered to him that she'd drive him home and they left.

They were all looking at me now, but I didn't exactly know what to say. "So, I'm sorry to bring you guys out of dinner," I said sheepishly. Wow, what a great way to start conversation. You're just a natural.

"And I told you to be careful! Just look what happens when you're not!" Emily cried, coming up and giving me a hug.

I hugged her back. "It's okay Em, I was being careful, but there was no way to know that that was coming. I didn't even know anyone else was out there."

"How did you not realize there was someone out there? And someone with a gun!" Jared practically shouted.

"There was no sounds, no scent, no nothing! I couldn't even see anyone out there! Whoever this was is very good at not being seen when they don't want to be," I admitted, shaking my head.

"How is that possible? You can't just not have a scent," Paul added.

"Well this isn't the first time," Sam whispered, almost to himself, but we knew we were supposed to hear.

"What do you mean 'not the first time'" Seth asked.

We all stared at him not knowing what to do or what he was saying. It finally clicked in my head when he said the one word that I had been disgustedly thinking all day.

"Matt."

We all stood there processing this. No one knew what to make of it last time and we were still just as stumped this time around.

"I think some of us should go out there and see if we can find anything. Maybe there's a scent that I missed because I wasn't close enough? I'm sure whoever's out there is gone by now though," I suggested.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea. Who's going?" Sam asked, looking at me.

I hated telling people what to do. "Um well I think we shouldn't have too many people, just incase whoever it was is still there. Seth and Leah come because you were out before and know where we're going. And Jared and Sam come too. You guys are the best at tracking scents," I said. "Wow that wasn't so bad," I thought. I was actually kind of proud of myself for doing something leader-like.

I started to follow them when everyone looked towards me with disapproving stares. They were giving me a, "What the hell do you think you're you doing?" expression, so naturally I responded with a confused one saying, "What did I do now?"

Billy finally spoke up. "You heard Sue son, she said not to phase for a while. And I don't think half an hour is a while."

Ah right, my leg. I had completely forgotten about it until now. Once reminded of it though, I realized how much it hurt to be standing on it still and plopped onto the couch.

"Fine. Good luck out there then guys!" I called out, depressingly, to my retreating pack members.

So we all sat there awkwardly for a while. Sue had come back by now. We were talking about little things to try and keep our minds from wandering to the four wolves in the forest.

Then we heard a howl in the distance. It wasn't a cry of trouble or pain, but more of a discovery, or lack there of. I told Brady and Collin to go phase and see what's up.

They went out and when they came back they simply said that the rest would be back in a few minutes and they'd explain everything then. I think I can speak for everyone here when I say it was probably the longest 'few minutes' I've ever sat through. God I hated just sitting around.

But when they came bursting through the front door the first thing I noticed was not how they were all wearing clothes that were dark brown as if they had been washed in mud. It was not the fact that the door seemed to be practically off its hinges from the force they opened it with. It was the expressions on their faces that told me what I'd been dreading ever since I heard that first deafening silence.

Something is definitely not right.


	7. Strike 2: War Begins?

_But when they came bursting through the front door the first thing I noticed was not how they were all wearing clothes that were dark brown as if they had been washed in mud. It was not the fact that the door seemed to be practically off its hinges from the force they opened it with. It was the expressions on their faces that told me what I'd been dreading ever since I heard that first deafening silence._

_Something is definitely not right._

Their faces all showed that this was obviously bad, but what it was exactly, I didn't know.

"So what'd you find?" Embry asked the question I was sure was in everyone's mind right now.

"Well…there wasn't that much in the spot Leah and Seth led us to. But we did find one scent," Sam paused, "surrounded by an empty container of bullets."

I don't know about everyone else, but I was confused out of my mind right now.

"Sam, stop trying to soften us up with this crap. Who the hell was in the woods shooting a freaking gun at me?" I shouted. Can you blame me for being a little over reactive and impatient? I don't think so.

"It was one from Matt's pack," Jared finished. "But it wasn't Matt and it wasn't the same scent from the tree last time. My guess is that they want the scent to be unknown."

Of course, I really should've seen this coming too. I knew Matt wasn't the type to go down peacefully. He had to turn a little mishap into a full-fledged battle. Well, if he wants a battle, let's give him a battle.

"Like hell they want to be unknown. These guys are just looking for a blood bath. I say we give him one!" Quil shouted.

"You just read my mind," I agreed.

"Do you really think that's the best-"Sam started before he got cut off by a bunch of agreements to Quil's statement from the group of young, fearless werewolves.

There was a rumble of people all talking about once. Everyone was talking about taking down Matt's pack, but I could already tell that these guys wouldn't be as unexpecting and inexperienced as those newborns we faced a few years ago.

"Guys, calm down," I yelled out. They all fell silent. "Okay, so I think that if they want a battle we should give them a battle, but I don't think we should be so quick to rush into this."

"Thank you Jacob. I agree with that. We don't even know why they attacked. Maybe we should just wait for them to provoke a fight again before we stage one," Sam reasoned.

"Yeah, that sounds good Sam. So if there's another attack or if anyone catches any of their scents, report it to the rest immediately. But for now let's just play nice and pretend we don't have any war plans up our sleeves," I concluded.

"_Do_ we have war plans up our sleeves?" Quil asked, mocking my odd choice of words with a mock evil grin that he was showing on his face.

A flash of Allison's sad face looking down on her brother's dead body sent a pang of pain through my heart. I shook away the image and tried to focus back on the problems in front of me. Easier said than done.

"We might. And if we don't now, then we will eventually," I said mischievously, trying to be serious, but letting them know I was half joking at the same time.

I was up at the cliffs where we have our bonfires, just going through memories and trying to imagine future ones.

I was thinking about my first bonfire knowing that the legends were true. It was such a huge moment in my life. I just figured out that these legends I've known all my life, the ones my parents used to tell us as bedtime stories, the ones I used to joke around about with my friends, were real. And I'm a part of them. That's a lot to just dump on a sixteen year old kid. I used to wish this had never happened to me, to any of us. But I can no longer think of life without these people that I now call my pack, my family, my brothers. It's a big change I'll agree, but I know I wouldn't trade it for being normal any day. If I wasn't a wolf, I would have never found Allison, but then we wouldn't have this problem on our hands.

I don't know if I would consider imprinting to be a positive or negative of being a wolf. Positive because of how she makes you feels complete. She brings out the best in you, and I can see from the others how happy they all are with their imprints.

But seeing Leah's story first hand shows its downside. She was in so much pain during that whole incident, and she's still extremely sore about it. And I know that not being near Allison is painful for me too. But it isn't as if I can just waltz up to her house and we could just hang out, watch a movie, eat dinner with her parents... I wish I could though. I wish we could be like any other imprinted couple. We would be together _normally_, hang out with friends and talk _normally,_ and eventually maybe even get married, have a family, the whole thing; _normally._ But no, if I haven't emphasized it enough already, we are not normal in any way. I wish she could be here right now, in my arms, reminiscing in old times _together._

So I'm sitting on the cliffs, facing the water, off in my own little world, minding my own business. All of a sudden, I heard something rolling towards me. I turn around to face the forest behind me.

There was a lot of crashing and I could see some trees falling. What was coming towards me? Appearing through the trees was a giant rock headed towards me; now where did that come from? Of course, being me, I did what a stupid person would probably do. I jumped off the cliff in front of me to avoid the rolling boulder. But does this get me safely out of the way? Does the rock stop rolling at the edge of the cliff and just stay up there? No, of course not. This is me remember?

Luckily, there aren't too many rough waves. I simply treaded water underneath the cliff I just jumped off, when all of a sudden I'm under a shadow. A large, circular shadow. I swam as fast as I could to the side to avoid it, but this abnormally huge boulder is too big for me to swim away from that fast. The rock pulled me under the water, before I could get a huge gulp of air, and crushes me. All of the air that was left rushed out of my lungs and gravity pulls me towards the bottom of the ocean, which is probably very deep because all I see around me is black. I tried to push the giant thing off of me, and finally, after it feels like I've already reached the gates of hell and my chest is about to implode in on itself from lack of oxygen, I get it off. I swam as fast as I could to the top. I start feeling light headed, but I pushed it out of my head until I reached breathable air.

I finally crash through the surface and am met with air. I don't think I have ever been happier to have air ever before in my life. I look over to the shore, but no one's there. I headed back to land with a little difficulty, but I finally make it.

Once I feel sand under my toes I run as fast as is humanly possible and collapse onto dry land. Catching your breath is a lot harder lying on your stomach, but my limbs needed to rest too.

What could have been minutes or years later, I heard footsteps running towards me. I look up to see a frazzled Kim and Maggie sprinting my way. I attempt to sit up, but fail and flop back down, face first into the sand.

When they reached me, they bend down next to me and start firing questions at me I don't think Einstein could've even found a way to answer them all at the same time.

"Jacob, are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"Where were you?"

"You look like you just lost a wrestling match to a whale!"

"Okay okay slow down. My brain doesn't work that fast and its even slower right now if that's possible. One question at a time if you don't mind," I gasped while spitting salt water and sand out of my mouth.

"What happened to you?" Kim asked first.

"I was sitting up on the cliffs over there," I said and pointed to the cliffs,"and all of a sudden a giant boulder comes rolling towards me. I jumped off, it followed and it crushed me. I swam back the shore and was probably half dead until you guys showed up and started shouting my ear off."

"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?" Maggie asked next.

"I think I will be eventually. I think I just need some non salt infested water and a couple thousand gallons of oxygen and I'll be good as new," I replied sarcastically.

"Okay, well come on, let's get you to Sam and Emily's," Maggie said while attempting to pull me off the ground from the sitting position I had moved myself into.

"Yeah, we were just headed that way anyways," Kim said, helping Maggie in their futile attempts to pick up a werewolf.

"Okay I'm coming, calm yourselves," I grumbled.

I pulled myself up off the ground and followed them back to the house. I knew I would be bombarded with questions again once we got there. I took a deep breath at the door, preparing myself, before I stepped into the house.

I don't even know if I had one foot in the doorway before people started fussing over me. And let me tell you, I don't really like the feeling. I know they're concerned and all, but it's just plain annoying after a while.

It wasn't until someone pulled me onto the couch that I comprehended my first question, a real accomplishment.

"Dude, what happened to you? You look like a seaweed monster that just got beaten up by Wolverine," Quil said, concerned, but at the same time trying to refrain from laughing at my appearance.

I looked down to see that I was indeed covered in masses of green. I was pretty scary looking if I do say so myself. My jean shorts were soaked (which tends to happen when you jump into an ocean while wearing them), and my bare chest was pretty scratched up from who know what in the darkness of the water. I was covered from head to toe in seaweed and it looked like it was glued to my skin. _If it was Halloween I would definitely win the prize for scariest costume._

"Uh, I have no idea where all of this seaweed came from, and I'm sorry I'm ruining your couch, but…" and I told my story again. Everyone looked like they were trying not to show their emotions, but I could see their angry masks popping out.

"How did a giant rock appear out of nowhere and just happen to magically be rolling towards the one person on the beach at the time?" Collin asked sarcastically.

"This was no coincidence. My guess is that this was all Matt's doing," Brady replied.

"How come Jacob always seems to be the victim in these fiascos?" Paul asked, almost like he was joking, but I wanted to know that same thing.

"I doubt that's a coincidence too. I don't know why, but for some reason Matt doesn't really like the idea of Jacob being able to live," Jared answered bluntly.

"Thank you so much, Jared. That just makes me feel so much better about this entire effed up situation!" I shouted, frustrated.

"Okay, who else is ready to go kick some psycho werewolf butt? Because I know I've been ready since the first day he showed up on our beach," Quil asked, being serious, but trying to joke a little bit. There were a lot of grumbled agreements before Sam stepped in.

"What do you mean? We can't just go run out and start a war!" Sam retorted.

"Sam's right," I said. "We can't just waltz over there and start killing people. They started with little things that could be fixed or avoided, but are still dangerous and infuriating. Why don't we do the same?"

"Good idea. But what are we going to do? Go throw rocks in their cave?" Leah responded sarcastically.

"We'll think of something, don't worry Leah," I said, starting to formulate plans in my head.


	8. Fighting Fire with Ice

I hate mornings. I hate having to end the perfect world you were in while you were asleep only to return to the nightmares waiting for you when you wake up. There are people who think that the morning is a bright start to every fresh day. I think that's a load of crap. Although we try to forget things sometimes, the memories of our yesterdays are always in our minds, subconsciously or not. The days that we wish to wake up and forget the most are the memories that haunt you, the ones you'll never forget. I think this is the reason why I was so shocked to wake up one morning and be… happy?

I walked downstairs to find Billy already in the kitchen making himself a cup of coffee. I waltzed in behind him, glad to share my good mood with my dad.

"Good morning," I called out.

"Good morning. Where's this coming from?" I helped him reach a mug from the cabinet. "Usually you wake up with grunts and muddled responses. It's a surprise to understand words from you before eight in the morning."

"I don't know where it came from, but I don't want to ruin it by trying to find out. I'm heading over to Embry's. I'll see you later,"

I ran outside to see the sky overcast, but not yet raining. All a matter of time though. I walked at normal speed down the street, and I was actually okay with it. What a day this is turning out to be.

La Push is extremely small. All of the houses are within walking distance of each other. From my house I could walk to anyone's house in the pack within a 15 minute time frame. That was, of course, walking at normal speed. As a wolf the time walking is cut down immensely.

Embry, Quil, and I have always lived within a very close proximity of each other. We would always be switching from one house to the next, and it would only take about five minutes to get to the next house.

When I got to Embry's house, I saw all of the lights off and I couldn't hear anyone inside_. I don't think he has patrol now. Maybe he's still sleeping._

I stepped inside, but I didn't hear anything still. Embry's snoring is pretty hard to miss. But I figured at least Maggie would be in here. _Next stop: Quil's._

But no one was at Quil's either. They looked normal to anyone passing the street. There was nothing physically wrong with them, but I knew that there was. Quil and Embry have never been morning people. That could be the reason we were always able to stand each other in the mornings. Each one was as unintelligible as the next.

I started over to Sam's to see if they were miraculously there this early. I walked up the steps and into the house.

I was met with a chorus of 'hey Jacob' 's and 'what's up' 's, but still no sign of Quil or Embry. _Weird._

I went into the kitchen to see Sam and Seth talking about some article in a tabloid magazine about Sea-monsters in the Pacific. Paul and Leah were arguing, again. Emily was preparing food in mountain loads. Since she was by herself, I decided to go over to her.

"Hey Em. Need a hand?" I asked, reaching over her to grab a stack of plates in the cabinet over her head.

"Sure, thanks Jake. Do you think you can help me with the eggs here? They need to be flipped in a minute, but I need to start other things too. I know how much you guys eat, but I only have two hands," she said with her genuine smile reappearing on her face.

I was mid flip when someone comes banging into the house. Now when I say banging, I mean really banging. They could have been mobile drum sets for all the noise they were creating. This, of course, causes me to turn towards the doorway to see who just walked in like a traveling circus, which, in turn, made the eggs I was attempting to flip break and half of it fell to the ground.

I bent down to pick up the fallen egg, and possibly eat it before Emily saw me (because why waste food like that). Before I could even stand up I saw Quil and Embry staring down at me with shit eating grins on their faces.

"_Okay what the hell did they do now?" _Was the first thought to run through my mind when I saw them. The second was what we would have to clean up as a result.

They kept staring at me, not saying anything, just staring. It was starting to creep me out a little bit, so I had to say something to break the silence.

"What did you do now and how much is it going to cost to fix?" I asked, keeping my tone stern but letting a teasing smile slip onto my face, a little forcefully though.

"Nothing is broken, no need to get you panties in a twist," Quil retorted sarcastically.

"Then why are you both grinning at me like a mixture of the Cheshire cat and a little kid who just went in their pants?"

"Should we tell him Quil?" Embry asked, looking over at Quil.

Quil shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know Embry; I don't know is he's special enough for it." They both looked back at me as if I couldn't hear them conversing two feet away from me. They looked towards each other again, Quil let out a dramatic sigh, and they turned back to face me.

"Okay fine. We decided that your status meets the requirements to know of this little secret."

"Of course, we would have told you sooner or later, but…"

"I can't wait to see you freak when you see this!"

I was honestly extremely creeped out by how they finished each other's sentences like Siamese twins. I decided to ignore it for the time being and just followed them out to the front of the house.

Everyone had been listening in on our conversation by then, and followed us out the front door to where this 'surprise' was.

Embry went into his truck, which I had no idea why it was there, because no one needed cars to get around anymore. He made a big show of looking for something in the bed of the pickup, but a minute or two came back out empty handed.

"Oops, we must have left it back at my house. You can come with us to get it, it won't be able to… wear itself out anymore by the time we get there anyway," Quil said with a mischievous smile, as if to imply that there plan was to leave it at his house the whole time. I shrugged my shoulders again and followed him the short walk to his house anyway.

When we reached the show they kept the whole theatrical act and searched every one of their pockets for a key. But I knew that the house wasn't locked in the first place. No one in the pack locked their houses. It just made it easier for other pack members to reach them and it was unnecessary seeing as anything that would be detoured by a lock was the least of our worries. Also, I was at Quil's house less than an hour ago. It wasn't locked then. So they must have come back and locked up whatever it was that they were presenting. It was either something they were being extremely cautious of, or something that would run away. Or both.

Standing in front of his house right then made me feel complete. It made me feel whole. I loved this feeling of just utter security and thankfulness. It washed over me and sucked me whole like a tidal wave. It was the dominant emotion in my body. I could barely feel my annoyance for this whole dramatic mess Quil and Embry were putting me through. This feeling was outweighing it all. I don't know where the feeling came from. I've only experienced this kind of emotion once before, and it definitely wasn't on Quil's front porch.

Quil finally "found" the key and they opened the door. The moment they did I was met by shouts from a voice I had been longing for weeks now. The sound was the most amazing music in my ears.

"You mutinous idiot! I told you a thousand times already! Let. Me. Go!"

Quil strolled in, but restrained me from advancing towards the sound of the voice. "Not gonna happen buttercup. Not by a long shot," he called back.

"Kidnappers don't often let their kidnappies go free so soon," Embry added in.

"You've kept me in here for an hour. And for the last time I'm not a kid! I'm probably older than you are! I'm used to the growth spurt of you wolves. Just because you're humongous doesn't mean I bow down to you," she growled from the other room.

By that point I couldn't take it anymore. I shoved past Quil and Embry who were keeping me away from the living room where she was. I needed to get to her. Everyone else was standing around behind me, curious as to who was being held captive in the other room. I knew it was her the moment I heard her voice. I practically ran into the next room, nearly taking out a side table on my way. As soon as I entered I stopped short, seeing her for the first time in weeks.

She was the same, her hair a little longer, her clothes changed, but otherwise the same. Her cheeks were flushed with anger and her eyes burned with rage. She started burning a whole in my head, and it just about broke my heart. She stopped after a minute, possibly for not getting the reaction she wanted from me, and groaned.

By that time everyone else had made it to the room. They were all standing around, watching the scene unfold before them. They had finally caught on as to who it was, but I wasn't sure if I would have preferred them being in the dark.

"Now not only have I been kidnapped, but you just imprinted on me as well. Of course," she muttered under her breath, but thanks to our sensitive hearing, we all heard it. I think she wanted us to hear her too.

"Um, hi. I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Jacob," I said. _Wow could I be any more pathetic and stupid sounding? Good going Jacob._

"Oh yeah I remember you. You're the creepy guy who stalked us into our hide out through the ocean. You're kind of hard to forget."

Great. This is exactly the way I wanted Allison to remember me. Just my luck, right?

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to just barge in like that. We were following the trail and that's where it lead to. And it's kind of hard to knock if there's no door," I said. Okay, maybe sarcasm is the way to go to win her over.

"Okay, whatever. Does it really matter why you were there? One second it was just us in the cave, and then next there's a splash and then you stumble in. It was kind of weird if you ask me, but you had your reasons or whatever."

Okay, sarcasm is a no then. What to do to make her stay? …Wait. Why is she here in the first place? Very observant, Jake. That's usually the first thing people think of. Of course you'd wait until you've already made an ass of yourself to ask the simple things.

I turned to Quil and Embry. "Guys, why did you bring her here?"

There smiles grew bigger and they looked way too overly eager for this situation. They stole a glance at each other, then looked between Allison and I before finally giving us the explanation.

"Well, as you'll see, this was probably the most brilliant thing we could've come up with. So you know how there was the whole you getting shot in the woods mess like two weeks ago?" started Quil. Both Allison and I flinched at the mention. Me, because it wasn't such an exciting moment for me. I had no idea why the memory troubled her.

Embry continued. "And then like a week later there was the boulder incident. So we pieced the clues together and said that it was Matt's pack. One of their scents was near where you were shot and there was the bullet package there too."

"And when we went to look for who pushed the boulder we found similar scents," Quil added. Why were they still finishing each other's sentences?

"Okay I know that part. Where does the whole kidnapping Allison come into this?" I grumbled, getting annoyed now that they were dancing around the subject. Before I didn't really mind and was just going along with it because they enjoyed it. Now it concerned my imprint and everything changes.

"You said we'd find a way to get even with them in a harmless and avoidable way. We figured that she was very important to them obviously. And since she's Matt's sister it would make him just that much angrier, which is good," Quil explained further.

"And we knew what it meant to you. We know how you've been feeling the past weeks without your imprint. I can't even imagine what you went through all this time. So we wanted to give you a little something you can enjoy too," Embry finished with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

Allison chose that moment to break through. "Wait, you imprinted on me in the cave _three weeks ago_?"

"Uh yeah," I answered nervously. I rubbed the back of my neck, only because I didn't know what else to do.

"How did you do it? I mean, I've seen how Hannah and Nick at around each other, unfortunately." She shuddered at the mental images in her mind. "They are completely inseparable. There's no way to keep them apart for more than a day. I give you a lot of credit for standing it for three weeks. If I would've known, I would've expected you to come creeping up on us again way before this. And it would have been you, not your dimwitted lackeys." She gave a glare in Quil and Embry's direction. They only smiled little foolish smiles back at her.

I found a small shred of hope in her words. The expression must have been clear on my face, for she immediately added, "This doesn't mean I'm giving into you that easily. You still have to try for me like any other guy. Just because I feel a little bit of sympathy for you doesn't mean you get off the hook."

"I'll try harder than you've ever seen. I promise," I whispered. I don't know if she heard me. If she did, I guess she chose to ignore it.

I looked over at Sam to see her looking at her, head tilted. He seemed to be trying to decipher something from her. Once I realized it, I realized just how oblivious she was making me.

"Oh and Allison?" _It felt to right to say her name. _"This is Sam, your brother."

She looked over to him and tried to figure him out, just as he was of her. I looked between the two and saw that they actually looked nothing alike. _Thank goodness. I don't need images of Sam in my daydreams as well._

She shook her head and righted herself. She stuck out her hand, playing polite. "Well then hi. I'm Allison, if you haven't already guessed. It's interesting to learn I have a brother. Well, another brother."

Sam reached out and shook her hand. "It's nice to know that I have a sister. I never knew what happened to my father after he left my mother."

"Well, I kind of over heard the story one time when my father was telling it to someone, I don't remember who. If you want to hear it, I can tell you?" she asked. She seemed to be acting a lot more friendly and civil to Sam than she was to Quil, Embry, or me. I guess she doesn't really like it when huge strangers come into your home; especially when they either kidnap you or accidentally fall in love with you.

"Sure, I always wondered what happened to him."

Allison grimaced for a second. It looked so wrong on her flawless face. "Okay, but I'm warning you right now, you may not enjoy too much of what you hear in this story. So you have to promise me you won't go running off to… father and beating the shit out of him after this okay?" I noticed how she purposefully left out anything before father, not sure whether to just say my, or to say our.

"Okay I promise. I will try to act as civilized as possible during and after hearing the story," Sam confirmed in a stiff tone. He sounded anxious, as well as apprehensive about what he was going to hear about his father's life.

"Okay so Matt was born in… '84 because he's now twenty five. My mother and, well I guess our father, were living in Kellogg, up in northern Idaho. Everything was fine they were a normal family. All was well. But a few months after Matt was born, father ran away. He came back to La Push. This was where he lived before, as you already know, before he met my mother and they got married. My mother was so worried when he ran off, but she couldn't do anything about it because she had to care for the newborn baby. He said that he was at some party on the beach here, and he met a young woman. He said she was beautiful, and she reminded him of his sister who died when he was a kid in a car accident. They were talking that night and they became good friends. This was, apparently, your mother. So anyway they were good friends, they hung out a lot, and he ended up staying there for maybe a year or so. One night they were at a party in Seattle. They both got drunk and did some unmentionable things. He woke up the next morning and saw her lying next to him. He didn't want to have to face her, so he caught a cab back to La Push. When she woke up she was so angry. She didn't remember a thing that happened, except for the fact that Joshua was there. She was so angry that he left her. She went back to La Push and stormed up to his house, only to find a note on the door with her name on it. It simply said:

I had to take off for a little while. Keep in touch. Don't be mad at me. I'll miss you.

~Joshua

There was a phone number to somewhere outside of the state at the bottom of the note. She ran home and tried calling it, but it went straight to a voicemail. The voicemail didn't have a name or anything. She was beyond furious at him. A few weeks later she found out she was pregnant. With you."

She took a deep breath and looked up at Sam from where she'd been staring at her hands folded in her lap.

"When she found out, she debated whether or not to call Joshua. She knew he was the father, and he deserved to know. But she just didn't want to have to face him again. So she tried the phone number for a second time. This time, he picked up. He sounded like he had just woken up, even though it was already noon. She said simply "Hi, its Eileen. I'm pregnant. Congrats." Then she hung up. He was so shocked by the news that he tried to call her back, but she purposefully called from a pay phone so he couldn't. He heard one more time from her that the baby was born. His name was Samuel Uley. She wanted him to keep his father's last name, because she still cared deeply for him, even after the horrible way he left her. By that time he had gone back to Matt and Maria in Idaho. He never went back to La Push though. And a few years later they had me.

"And in this part of the story you're supposed to say 'and they lived happily ever after' but that would be a blatant lie, so I won't. First it was my mother being attacked by a gang that was wondering past Kellogg. My mother was walking home down the street and they attacked. They beat her and would have been successful in raping her if the neighbors didn't start to finally notice. They cut her up pretty badly though. It took her six months to leave the house after that, even though her recovery was only about a week. That was what really made father turn to alcohol. He was- is- a major alcoholic, but he's getting help and it's slowly getting better. The next thing I know Matt is shoving a bag in my face telling me to pack because we're leaving. I didn't know where we were going or what it was for, but I wanted to stay with my brother, even if only for a little while longer. So we left. My mother was heartbroken, and I don't even know what father thinks of it. We passed through the Washington border before he finally told me what was going on. He told me…" And she stopped short, as if she'd said too much.

"What did he tell you?" Sam asked frantically.

"Oh nothing. It's not a big deal. Just that we were going to Washington, and here we are," she answered, although her voice sounded like she was hiding something.

I really wanted to know what was so secretive that she couldn't share it with us, even though she already revealed her and Sam's father's life story. By the end of the story he was shaking like mad, but kept his promise and worked to control himself.

"So then how old are you?" Seth asked from his position across the room. This was the moment that I remembered everyone else was actually still in the room.

"I'm nineteen. I know I don't look like it, but 5'5" is a completely average height. You guys just have a screwed sense of height because of the freaking wolf genes," she said, glaring at those with incredulous looks on their faces.

"It's not our fault people look shorter to us since were like six and a half feet tall. And no one was saying anything about your age. No need to get defensive," Quil said, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. Of course what she wanted him to surrender was herself so she could leave. But I knew just as well as her that wasn't going to happen.

"I wish I was tall though. I hate being short. I always wished I would one day inherit the wolf gene from my father, but I'm a girl so of course I didn't," she said with a sad sigh.

Leah looked over at her with an incredulous glare. Then she turned stone hard; I knew that face. She was about to go off on a 'why wolves are bad' tangent. "No you don't want this. Trust me, it's not as great as it seems. Sharing a mind with these bozos makes you think twice about your own personal space and personal everything! I can tell you for a fact that you are damn lucky you get to stay a normal human! You're not a dead link in your family! You're not a legendary first, a freak! Consider yourself lucky." She stomped outside and we heard her phase and run off. This was always a touchy subject for Leah and I felt bad. I wanted to go make sure she was okay, but my life- my imprint- was here. I couldn't possibly leave her.

Allison looked at where Leah had just disappeared from with a look of shock and amazement.

"She really doesn't like being a shifter, does she?" Allison asked rhetorically.

"No she doesn't. She blames the existence of it on a lot of the problems in her life. It's a sensitive topic for her," I said lightly, so as not to scare her, but give her enough information to satisfy her.

"Ah okay. Well I just told you guys all about my family history and I don't even know half of your names. If I'm going to be here for a little bit, why don't you at least introduce yourselves," she said, looking at the group of wolves still standing in the back of the room.

"Well as you know, I'm Jacob. You already know Embry, Quil, and Sam of course. And over there's Seth, Brady, Collin, Paul, and Jared. The girl who just ran out was Leah. The imprints are all back at Sam's." I pointed each of them out as I said their name. I felt like a corny talk show host. "Do you want to go there for breakfast and meet them all?"

At the mention of food, all of the pack members shot up and started for the door all headed back to Sam and Emily's. Greedy pigs.

Sam, Embry, Quil and I were the only ones left, along with Allison. She gave us a comical one-eye browed look and uttered a single word. "Wow." Yep and that pretty much summed the whole thing up.

She agreed to come and we walked out the door. Once we got there though, I remembered Leah. "Embry, can you go check and make sure Leah hasn't killed anyone? Or herself. And tell her we're going back for food."

"Okay boss. I'll meet you there," Embry agreed with a mock salute in my direction and headed off to the woods behind Quil's house.

It was a quiet walk back to Sam's house. No one said anything, and we made sure to keep Allison between us to prevent her from attempting to run off. When we finally made it there we were met with a loud crash from the kitchen. We walked in to see a shattered plate on the floor surrounded by food and an apologetic look on Paul's face.

"I'm sorry Em. I'll clean it up," Paul said, bending onto the floor to pick up the broken plate and food. Allison stared down at him, looking like she wanted to comment, but restrained herself.

Emily finally looked over at Allison and I standing in the doorway- she was shy I guess? - And a huge smile immediately formed on her mangled face. Allison smiled pleasantly back at her, not seeming bothered by her scars in the least. She walked over to us.

"Hello. My name is Emily. It's so nice to meet you," she said warmly.

"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Allison. Apparently I'm being held captive here, and I figured that I might as well get to know the people who are holding me hostage," she replied, her eyes glistening and showing that she was only teasing. Even though what she said is completely true.

"Oh well don't feel like this is a prison! Please make yourself at home," Emily said, playing along.

I could tell Allison really liked Emily, but then again, who didn't?

"Come! Get some food before these animals eat it all and start on the table," Emily told her with a chuckle and a light shove towards the table.

I looked at her go to get food and shove the guys out of the way to get to the table. She looked so at home with them, whether she realized it or not. Thank you Quil and Embry.

Ok I just want to say thank you soooooo much to those of you who leave me fabulous reviews everytime! I love it so much!

And a thousand thanks to my fabulous beta emmettsmyfave!!! This story would suck so much more without her!

Review please! 333

Love,

MintCcIceCream 3


	9. Inside her Head

**I'm so sorry for how long this took! Schools almost out and then I'll have more time to write! Promise! Thank you so much to all of my reviewers and my beta! This chapter has a little bit into Allison's head because she's been nagging me to do it! It's mostly just a cute little chapter with more of her personality! Hope you like it!**

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It's been about a week since Embry and Quil "kidnapped" Allison. It has been the best and most confusing week I have ever endured in my entire life. I think this was even worse than when I first exploded into a furry beast.

Most of it has to do with Allison. Well actually it all has to do with Allison. One minute she'll be hanging out with me and it will be completely normal and I will be happy to simply be in her presence. The next thing I know it's as if she realizes _who_ she's with or what she's doing and she makes up lame excuses and walks out on me. It's so frustrating!

To help me try and not rip my hair out of my skull, Quil, Embry, Brady, and Seth all came with me to go cliff diving. Since it's only the end of February, there aren't many people down on the beach, let alone in the water.

The feel of the cold water on my face is so refreshing. I haven't said a word to any of the guys since we got here because of all of my thoughts being focused on Allison and not their conversation. But this mind numbly cold water did just that to me, if only for a few moments: numbed my mind. It felt so good not to be thinking anything that I stayed under there for probably more than I should have and was pulled to the surface by Quil when my body was starting to feel constricted for the oxygen loss.

"What the hell are you doing? Trying to drown yourself?" Quil demanded.

I sighed. "No I'm not going off on a suicide attempt; just clearing my head."

Quil scrutinized my face, as if trying to detect a lie from my words. When he didn't find one, he nodded. "Okay, good. We don't need our Alpha going all emo on us. God knows how well that worked out last time…"

We both swam back to shore to see Embry, Seth and Brady packing up their things.

"Hey guys, we're heading to Emily's for lunch. You coming?"

"Yes!" I replied a little too quickly. No one asked about my quick answer because it was obvious what I wanted to go to Emily's for: Allison.

Allison and Emily became really great friends in the last week. Kim too. She spent most of her time the past week over at Emily's house. I could tell she felt very comfortable around Emily and was really starting to trust her. It hurt that she wouldn't trust me like that, but my imprinting situation kind of freaked her out a lot so I wasn't really expecting her to trust me right away. Especially after Quil and Embry kidnapped her.

After that first day where she told us of her and Sam's father's history, she had been trying to avoid getting too comfortable around me, but I could see her resolve weakening. Such as last week when we were having dinner at Emily and Sam's. We were all in the living room talking; she happened to be sitting next to me on the couch and didn't really acknowledge it too much. But all of a sudden she seemed to realize who it was next to her on the couch and just got up and flew into the kitchen. This happened a bunch of times and even though I was watching her, as if waiting for her to up and go, it still hurt to see her walk away from me.

We walked into Emily's house and called out our hello's. I heard Emily, Kim, and Allison talking quietly in the kitchen. I wanted to go in and see what it was they were discussing, but they stopped when they heard us come in.

"Hi guys. Are you hungry?" Emily asked sweetly.

"Of course we are Emily! What a silly question," Seth said while going over and claiming a seat at the table.

Allison helped Emily put food onto a plate and carry it over. She avoided my eyes the whole time.

Allison's POV

"So Kim, have you and Jared chosen the date for your party yet?" Embry asked, initiating conversation into the slightly awkward mood of the room. Or maybe it was just me.

"We're thinking of having it next Saturday. You guys are all obviously coming so try and remember that please." Kim smiled sweetly at them, teasing them on the fact that they tend to forget a lot of things like that.

"What's the party for?" I questioned.

"Jared and my three year anniversary. Also…" She held out her left hand, which indeed did have an engagement ring on it. It looks like Jared finally manned up and asked her. Kim was beaming by this point.

"Aw that's so sweet! Congratulations!!!" I gave her a huge hug. "Can I help out at the party?" I asked timidly. I don't want to intrude on their lives too much.

"Well you're coming, so of course!"

"Really?"

"What? You didn't actually think you wouldn't be coming? The fact that we've only known each other for a week makes no difference in my book." I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

The three of us went back to our food preparations while the guys went on with their food inhalation. I tried so hard to avoid my gaze from going to Jacob. I just had to pretend he wasn't there, but that's way easier said than done.

The past week I've tried really hard to avoid getting too close to him. It hurt to be away from him for long periods of time, but I couldn't afford to let his piercing gaze and lingering touches get to me. If I was planning on leaving here as soon as they released me, I couldn't have any attachment holding me back.

All of the imprinted girls have been so great to me. They accepted me as if I belonged here; as if I've been here the whole time. It felt great to be around girlfriends who cared about me again. Living with guys really does something to you. It affects your mind in some weird way.

I felt Jacob's eyes on me, again, and I turned to face him. Why I did I have no idea because as soon as I did I was lost. I was drowning in his deep chocolate eyes, trying so hard to reach the surface and break his gaze but he was holding me under.

I'm not saying I don't like him, because I'd obviously be lying. I was just trying to get myself to stop liking him. This plan wasn't going so well at all. Of course I noticed his flowing black hair, his perfectly sculpted chest, his jaw dropping facial features. _Why_ did he have to be so hot?

I shook my head and finally broke free from his gaze. I went to remove all of the plates the guys had used up, but he was one step ahead of me.

"Here, let me do it," he said in his deep, intoxicating voice… which I won't let affect me…

"Um…ok."

To avoid staring at him, I went into the living room with the rest of the guys. They were all watching a football game on TV.

"Hey. Who's playing?" I asked, plopping down next to Quil on the couch.

"Cardinals and Giants. It just started but I can see a Cardinal win in the future," Quil answered and looked off for a cheesy dramatic effect.

"We'll see about that. I have faith in my New York football playing men. You just wait."

"Oh, so we have a football fan on our hands here. I think we need to initiate a little bet here…" Quil trailed off suggestively.

"Ok, name your bet." He crossed the wrong path here. Gambling and football were two of my pretty unhealthy obsessions. He just created a dangerous combination.

"If the Cardinals win you have to promise to allow us to take you cliff diving. We'll go when the water's a little warmer. We don't want you turning blue on us. And no girlish whining either," he suggested with a look on his face, as if he could actually win this bet. Ha.

He just accused me of acting like a 'typical' girl. This bet just got a lot more interesting. And he is _so_ not winning. "And when the Giants _do_ win, you have to allow me to girl you up; put you in a dress and make up and go around Forks and La Push, anywhere I feel like taking you. No complaining about it either." I gave him a fake sweet smile, but he doesn't need to know that.

"Oooh, an evil little one here. I like it," Embry said smiling at me.

"I'm sorry Quil, but I now want to Giants to win! I don't want to miss the opportunity to see you in a dress." Seth was on my side now too. Two down, one to go.

Well, if you count how I could practically have Jacob whipped up if I wanted, I'd call it three. But I came in here to not think about him, so I'm not going to let him invade my thoughts, again.

"I agree with Seth. Go Giants!" Brady cheered.

Jacob came in laughing, no doubt hearing our whole conversation. "Well Quil I see you've got a whole room full of people fighting you into a dress. I really need to see this." He flashed me a knee-buckling smile, but luckily I was sitting down. No! I'm not letting it affect me like this!

Our football based bickering lasted for the next three hours. More of the guys joined us as the game continued, and so far Quil had no supporters after hearing my side of the bet.

"Yes touchdown!! In your face little Miss make-everyone-turn-against-Quil-because-your-promising-to-put-him-in-a-dress!!!" Quil shouted, jumping up and pointing at me.

"So? Cardinals are still down 28-21. That's nothing and its already fourth quarter," I argued back.

Everyone was intently watching the TV, even the rest of the girls. Claire was the cutest though. She wanted me to win because she wanted someone else to dress up with her. I told her she could do Quil's make-up and she gave me the most adorable smile and hugged me.

"Yes! Grab the ball!"

"Run! Run to the end zone you idiot!!"

"What kind of hand off was that? My grandmother could do better!"

"Look at that throw! B-E-A-U-tiful!"

And this was what my entire afternoon consisted of, but it was fun. I joined in with the shouting and cheering of course, and Kim, Emily, and Maggie all started doing cheers for me. They were trying to imitate the cheerleaders on the TV, but it kind of failed terribly so they just made up their own. The guys almost fell off the couch when they were imitating them, except for Jared, Sam, and Embry who went all googlie eyed on them.

The whole 'pack' was there as we watch the clock count down the final minute of the game. The score was 28-27 and the Cardinals had the ball. If they scored then they would be winning, and there was no way I wanted that to happen.

Warner was about to throw the final toss to Boldin when I jumped up.

"Trip over a rock!"

Everyone stared at me strangely when I said that, but at that moment, Boldin did just that. Tripped, not stared at me.

The fans in the stadium started cheering (it was a home game for the Giants). All of the people in the room just looked at me in shock. I think if I pushed on their foreheads they would topple backwards by the sheer look of emptiness and amazement on their faces. It was pretty comical.

"Wow that was weird. I didn't know I could do that, and that was pretty awesome!"

Quil snapped out of his trance first. "That's not fair! You jinxed him! It shouldn't count because you cheated," he yelled at me.

"Quil, don't be a sore loser or you'll get a time out," Claire glared at him sternly in her cute little five year old seriousness.

"So Quil what will it be? Purple velvet or blue silk?" I asked trying to relieve some of the awkwardness in the room.

"I'm thinking Quil is more of a fire engine red than a blue or purple. We want him to stand out. That's just me though. What do you think?" Maggie suggested, looking next to her at Kim, Emily, and me.

"Oh red is most definitely his color. I think a pair of matching high heels would look gorgeous on him too," Kim said, raising her eyebrows up at Quil, whose mouth was hanging wide open.

"Close your mouth Quil. You don't want to attract flies now do you?" Emily teased, joining in our little pick-on-Quil session.

"Just one question, where are we going to find heels big enough to fit his feet? Look at them, they're _huge!_"

"I can't wait to see this!" Collin exclaimed, completing ignoring my question. Seeing Quil's horrifying expression he added, "Don't worry Quil, I think you're going to make a lovely woman. I just might want a kiss or two."

Every person except for Quil was hysterical laughing at that point. Whether it be Quil's expression of anticipated pain and horror or Collin's last statement, no one in the room was able to breathe at that point.

As much as I hate to admit it, I was really enjoying myself, being with all of these people. I felt like a part of their makeshift family; accepted and included. Thinking this I looked over to Jacob to see he was a lot closer than I expected.

He was sitting in the chair right next to the end of the couch where I was sitting. He was looking at me with something what I think was joy and happiness in his eyes. It pleased me to know that he was happy, but unnerved me to be thinking this way at the same time.

To knock those feelings out of my mind, I got up to go help Emily, Maggie, and Kim with the Quil bashing. They were currently making up a cheer about how he lost.

"L-O-S-T you lost to Ally, D-R-E-S-S now you have to wear a dress! Woo-hoo!!!"

It was probably the lamest cheer ever, but the fact that they did it for me made me smile.

"Now do you know better than to bet against me? I should have warned you that when it comes to football and betting, I don't lose."

"How is that possible? You just magically called out his mistake before he even made it! It's not possible!" Quil whined.

"I don't know how that happened. Stroke of luck I guess," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"You're a witch! An evil witch! You used some abra cadabra spell to make him stumble at the last second!" He was searching for an excuse as to how he tripped, but it's starting to get kind of pathetic.

"Quil, I'm going to break this to you very gently now. I am not a mythical creature. That's _your_ job. I'm just apparently a very good gambler and football fan. So now, when would you like to start your little make-over?"

Emily stepped forward with a genius smirk on her face. "I say we wait until tomorrow to do it because it will be the weekend so there will be more people walking around and what not, and we have the full day." I knew that smirk was genius.

"Okay now, let's leave poor Quil alone for a little while. I think he needs to regain his dignity from losing in a football related bet to a girl. Good job by the way Ally," Seth commented with a smile. That boy is never_ not_ smiling, I swear.

"Well I don't know about all of you, but all of that football excitement made me hungry!" Embry exclaimed.

"And that's our cue ladies," Emily said while they all turned to go into the kitchen.

"Wait a second. This is wrong on so many levels. Why should we become your food slaves just because you're hungry? You're always hungry! I think, in honor of Quil being dubbed a female for the day tomorrow, all of you guys should make dinner tonight," I smiled proudly at each of the guys with horrified looks pointed at me. The ones with imprints looked to them with pleading glances, but I think they're on my side on this one.

"I agree, we cook enough for you guys, you can do it for one night. Then you can come and complain to us that you want food when you're hungry. And ordering pizza doesn't count," Maggie rebutted, staring at Paul.

The rest of the girls nodded in agreement towards their respective other. I looked over to Jacob to see him looking back at me (of course) with adoration, respect, and some other unfamiliar emotion. His eyes were swimming with it, but I wasn't so sure I wanted to know what it was that was making him stare at me that way, almost with a longing.

The guys, grumbling, stood up and made their way towards the kitchen. Emily went with them to show them where the recipes were and to see if any of them actually knew how to follow them. I sure hope they were able to but I still wasn't too sure.

Kim, Maggie, Claire, and I sat back down on the couch and pulled out a movie from Emily and Sam's DVD collection.

I spotted Legally Blonde and immediately demanded we watch it. Emily was the only other one who had seen it, so I enforced it upon them. Really? How had they never seen this movie before?

Emily and I were singing along to all of the songs, having a blast. We were just getting to the part where Elle and Paulette go to get her dog back from Dewey when the smoke alarm went off. Damn that thing is loud! It's blasting in my ear!

Emily, Maggie, and I went into the kitchen to inspect what happened and how much damage was caused. Kim stayed with Claire in the living room. We walked in, and immediately stumbled back from ramming into a warm chest.

I looked up to see none other than Jacob looking down at me. He tried to smile at me and prevent us from seeing the disaster in the kitchen, but there was no way he was swaying me like that.

The three of us pushed past him to inspect the situation. That was a lot harder than it sounds, Jacob is really strong. And hard. There was smoke pouring out of the oven and what looked like a roasted school bag on a metal tray inside. Peering closer it looked more like a chopped up roasted school bag.

"What the hell were you guys trying to do?" Maggie asked, poking timidly at the school bag like form with a spatula she grabbed off the counter.

"Well we were going to make hamburgers, so we made the meat and put everything together like it said and then put it into the pan, but I think something went wrong…" Sam trailed off, as though he expected nothing to go wrong.

"Well obviously you messed something up. Besides the fact that you're supposed to make individual patties with the meat, haven't you ever eaten hamburgers before? You weren't supposed to simply put the giant lump in a pan. What else did you guys do? Because you obviously didn't follow the recipe seeing as mine never does this." Emily looked at them with a questioning glare.

They were all talking at once, and even if I couldn't really understand or hear what all of them were saying, I could tell they were trying to create half-assed excused, but one glace at Emily showed me it wasn't working.

Looking around the kitchen, I saw a tornado like effect on the room. There were things splattered everywhere, dirty dishes and utensils covering every bit of space it possibly could, and some space it probably shouldn't of. It was messier than our cave when we first found it.

I sighed. Thinking about my brother and friends made feel home sick and depressed. I decided I didn't want to deal with the drama in here and went back to go join Kim and Claire.

We finished watching the movie while the guys cleaned the kitchen. Emily had called for pizza; we were allowed to do that, instead of letting them potentially destroy her kitchen again.

The doorbell rang about an hour later. The guys all cheered obnoxiously, with choruses of "Food!" and "Finally" reverberating throughout the house. I went up to the door to relieve to poor man behind it of the 10 pies we had ordered. But what I found behind it made me want to either slam the door in his face or take off as fast as I can. But at that moment, I was frozen.


	10. The Return

**I just want to quickly say thank you so much for all of your fabulous reviews! And I don't really have much more to say besides enjoy the chapter!**

Back to Jacob's POV

I heard the knock at the door and Allison got up to answer it. I figured it was the pizza guy who was supposed to be here around now. Poor guy had to carry enough for the whole pack, but what can I say? We are hungry guys. I saw the money that we collected to pay for the pizza on the counter, and decided to take it out to her. Also, it gave me an excuse to stop cleaning up the kitchen for a little bit.

I walked out of the kitchen to see Allison standing in the doorway, frozen. She wasn't really that tall, so I could see who was standing in front of her.

I began shaking as I walked up to them. When I finally got to the front door (which is probably not even 10 steps for us), I glared at the man standing there.

"What do you want?" I spat out at him.

"Well, I was just coming to visit little Allie here. And to congratulate you of course for successfully holding her down here without her tearing your house to pieces," he answered cockily.

Allison reached ever and slapped his arm. She seemed to have gotten over her little moment of shock. "Shut up Matt. I'm not that bad!" she yelled at him.

He gave her a little side hug and playfully ruffled her hair. God I really hate him right now. "Okay, whatever you say."

I decided to break up the little reunion right there. I really couldn't stand to watch this much longer. It hurt to see how comfortable she was with him compared to how she always shies away from me.

I pushed Matt and Allison down the steps onto the front lawn. It was getting a little too crowded in the doorway, and now it's that much easier for him to leave.

"Okay Matt, what are you really here for? And don't give me anymore nonsense answers," I stated firmly, trying to show that I was serious.

"Oh, well, if you want to do blunt answers then; I'm here to take her back," he said, staring me down by the end of his sentence, turning it into a full out glaring contest, which I wasn't going to back down from. He didn't intimidate me at all.

Just at that moment, everyone came out from the kitchen and the living room to see what was going on. And thank god they did, because I was about five seconds away from tearing the bastard to pieces.

"What's going on?" Sam demanded, coming out of the house first.

"I just came back to take what you stole from us. Or in this case I guess it's called kidnapping," he shot back.

Allison stepped into the middle of the little circle that we had subconsciously formed. I tried to pull her back, but she ripped her wrist from my grasp.

"Okay 'big brother,' you should know this better than anyone else. I am not some _prize_ to be won. I make my own decisions and none of you could have changed my mind. If I wanted to get away I could have," she stated firmly, talking to everyone around her. I knew that she was tough, but standing up against a group of somewhat pissed werewolves is pretty gutsy.

"Well, if you could've then why didn't you get out of here a week ago? We've been searching all over for you! Do you know how worried I was? What if you were hurt? I can't lose you too!" Matt exclaimed, walking towards her with a wounded look on his face.

"Matt, I'm fine. They would never do anything to hurt me. Trust me, I'm okay here. They're my friends," she looked back at him sincerely, as if there was a double meaning to her words.

He sighed, "Fine. But how are you going to get back after all of…" he trailed off, as if he didn't want us to know, but he knew that she knew what he was talking about. And she did.

I was really starting to get confused with all of their secretive talk, so I decided to join the conversation.

"As lovely as this little reunion is, would either of you like to fill the rest of us in on what you're talking about?"

Allison looked at Matt, then back at me, then at Matt again and finally settled back on me. I held her gaze and all I saw in her eyes was sorrow, guilt, and something else I couldn't place.

She sighed and broke my hold on her hazel green eyes. She looked to the ground and muttered, "I can't go through with that anymore, Matt. I'm sorry."

She sounded unsure of herself, doubtful. I don't think that in all of the time I've spent with her she was ever doubtful of anything she said.

Matt walked over and stopped right in front of her. "So is this it then? I don't want you getting stuck in the middle; I don't want to be the one to hurt you. This needs to be done. It's what is right and you know it."

And suddenly her self-conscious state was over and she was fuming at her brother. "It's right? How is it right? You don't know what you're talking about. All of your selfishness is leaking through and clouding your judgment. If you would drop your conceited attitude for one minute then you would see that you're trying to kill innocent people! Destroying the lives of those who don't deserve it. It's not fair and it's not right. I can't stand by and watch you do that." And with that she stalked away from Matt, and with one last glance my way, her eyes asking me for forgiveness, showing her pain, she went into the house.

The girls followed her into the house, which I was very grateful for. I wanted to go comfort her, but I knew now was not the time. I was shaking uncontrollably now. What right did he have to upset her like that? He hurt my angel and now he was going to hear it from me! It tore my heart apart to see her like that. It's supposed to be my job to make her happy forever, and so far I have been extremely unsuccessful. I need to fix things with her, but first, I have to fix her brother. I don't even know what they were arguing about, but I have a feeling it's about the rest of the pack and me. And whatever it is, it isn't good.

I wanted so badly to just rip him to shreds at that point, but I knew that Allison would never forgive me if I did. With the murderous part of my anger slowly simmering down, I started on Matt.

"What the hell is your problem? What did you say to her to make her so upset? I swear if you didn't mean so much to her you would be dead right now."

Quil, Embry and Jared were trying to calm me down. They know the feeling of the imprint and they can emphasize with what I'm going through.

Sam was having problems of his own. Ever since the day Embry and Quil first brought Allison here, he thought of her like the little sister he always wanted. I could see from the way they acted together that she thought of him like another brother too. And just because Matt was her brother as well as his, I'm almost positive he wants to kill him as much as I do.

"Oh I have no problem. I'm doing this for the good of my people and yours, but you'll find out what it is when it comes true," he said with a smirk. I didn't trust one word of what he just said and I don't think anyone else did either.

"And as for my little sister, she's just letting off a little steam. She'll get over it soon I'm sure. Then she'll be able to see the light again and maybe come back to where she belongs," he added.

Brady, obviously not wanting this to turn any worse than it already has, decided to change to a safer subject, or so I thought. Why did he have to be so smart _and_ be able to talk too? I thought it was bad when people said really stupid things out loud, but I just learned that saying something smart could be a bad idea as well.

"So where are all of your other guys? I noticed you seem to send all of your messages with just one person, but I highly doubt there's actually no one there. If there were an attack, you wouldn't nobly go down by yourself. You'd take your pack or whatever to help you. Or at least that's what a smart person would do."

At that moment everyone in the pack was staring daggers at Brady, trying to will him to shut up. When he had finished his little rant, Matt was looking at him in disgust.

"And who are you to insult me. My pack is here, but I thought there would be less tension if only one of us came. So much for me trying to be considerate. Come on out guys," Matt called to his pack presumably.

At that moment the other 5 guys from Matt's pack came out of the woods by Sam's house. This made us all even tenser if that's possible. _Thanks_ Brady. I noticed they brought the other girl too. Why they did is beyond me. I don't want to fight with a girl here. Well besides Leah but still, she's the exception.

This was one time I think Matt's brain might have actually been functioning properly. "Hannah, go inside. Allison and the others are in there." Not needing to be told twice, she left and went into the house.

And now that it was just our two packs, I had a feeling there was going to be a fight. And I knew I didn't want that to happen.

"Okay look," I started, "Let's not get into a fight over this. I'm sure Allison isn't disowning you guys or anything. She isn't like that. If she wants to stay here that's up to her and it's no problem with us, but if you're are going to bring violence into this then you're going to have to leave." This is one of those times when I'm glad I got the Alpha genes. I'm helping the safety of the Quileute's by getting them out of here, so it doesn't hurt to have the genes that give me the authority to do so.

"Well look who thinks he's all high and mighty," Matt responded with a sarcastic chuckle. "Fine, we'll leave, but remember this Alpha boy: this is _not_ the last time you'll see me, and next time you're going to wish that you never started this." And with that, he left, the rest of them following. I was glad they were gone, but scared of what this is going to lead to.

Everyone was looking around, not believing this was happening. All of their faces held that same look of disbelief and I'm sure mine did too. At that moment Allison and the rest of the imprints ran outside.

Allison was the first one out and she ran up to Brady, much to my disappointment. My red vision was starting to turn green until she got up to him.

She slapped him on the arm. Hard. I heard it from where I was standing across the circle. We're pretty durable, but that still sounded like it hurt.

"Ow!" he was rubbing his arm where he was hit. "What was that for?"

She glared back at him. "What did you say to my brother to make him get mad like that and call for the reinforcements?"

"I just asked him where his so called _reinforcements_ were. Then he went all ape shit on us and was like 'how dare you insult me. If you want to see them so badly then I'll just call them out!' Then he called them out. What? Did you know of his little battle plans that he was going to use?" Brady said sheepishly.

She was still glaring at him, but I noticed her cradling her hand to her chest and it was red. It was the same hand she used to hit Brady with and I'm assuming that's where it came from. Ignoring their petty little feud, I went to go sooth my angel's pain. Maybe I can do one thing right…

I walked up to them, and as if sensing my presence, she turned around and stared at me. I don't know if it was a happy stare or an angry stare, but I could see her biting the inside of her cheeks. So it was either to hold out the scream from the pain, or to retain herself from lashing out at me. I didn't really want it to be either but I think I'd rather have the former at the moment.

"Are you okay?" I asked as sincerely as I possibly could. I looked into her eyes with loving devotion and I really hope she can sense the double meaning in my words; her pain from her hand and from her brother's harsh words.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It doesn't even matter anymore. I know it's not going to change anything to stay upset about it," she sulked, answering the latter portion.

I could tell she was lying, but I decided to let it go. "Here, let me check out your hand," I said, gently pulling her right arm away from her body and she reluctantly let me. I saw Brady leave then, mouthing a thank you in my direction. I just nodded at him subtly.

Her hand was swollen and really red. There was no bleeding thankfully, and there also didn't appear to be any broken bones. There might be a light sprain, but I don't really know anything when it comes to medical crap.

"I don't think it's broken, but let's get you some ice and I'll call Sue to come look at it," I told her comfortingly. She stared back in my eyes with an emotion I don't even know how to describe. There was something burning in the edges of her eyes, but I'm not sure what it is.

I lead her into the house with Emily and Hannah following. I forgot she was still here. And if she's still here, then how is she going to get back to the others? They're probably going to have to come back to get her. Not good. But I'll worry about that later. Right now all of my attention is on Allison.

We went into the living room and Hannah helped her with the bag of ice while Emily called and asked Sue to come over. I sat Allison down on the couch next to me with Hannah on her other side. I wanted so badly to help comfort her, but I wasn't sure if she'd let me. I grabbed her hand that wasn't being surrounded by ice and held it gently in my own. I saw her eyes go wide for a second before she looked up at me and smiled.

We were sitting there for a little while before all of the other guys came in, Sue following behind.

She checked out Allison's hand, and luckily there wasn't too much damage. It was going to be swollen and sore for probably the rest of the day and maybe in the morning, but she should be fine. I was so glad to hear she was going to be all right, but still reminded myself to kill Brady later.

After that we all sat in silence in the living room. Everyone, including myself, was confused about what had happened, but no one wanted to push Allison or Hannah for answers. Allison was the first one to break the silence.

"Well, I know you guys are all wondering what the hell just happened, but I can't really tell you. I know Matt can be a conceited jerk pretty much all of the time, but I promised him I wouldn't say anything. And you all probably dislike him because of the way he treated me, but he's just bad with feelings. I know he loves me and I love him so please don't hurt him," she finished. She looked so torn, seeing her two different groups of friends fighting like this and knowing there's no easy way to fix this.

I let go of her hand and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her and hoping she wouldn't pull away. Much to my content, she relaxed into my shoulder and I just held her there, loving having my angel in my arms.

We all talked comfortably after that, keeping conversation light. We ate the pizza when it came about a half hour later. It seriously took them over 2 hours to deliver it? We didn't even live that far from the pizza place. Let's just say they didn't receive too much of a tip.

Everyone slowly started to leave the house. Soon there was only Sam, Emily, Hannah, Allison and I left in the house. They all stood up to go to bed. Emily went to go find pillows and blankets for Hannah to use. Hannah and Allison are going to share the guest bedroom. They all went upstairs and Allison walked me to the door before I went home.

She looked up at me, her eyes confused. She took a deep breath, but didn't seem to know what to say.

I decided to help her break the silence. "Look Allison, about everything that happened before, I just wanted to say that I would never do anything to hurt you. I hope you know that."

She saw the sincerity in my eyes and it seemed to be enough for her to continue with what she was going to say. "I know you wouldn't Jacob. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore! I don't want anyone getting hurt, but I feel like it's going to happen inevitably. I don't know why it matters this much to me, but I want you to promise me something." She looked into my eyes for a confirmation to her promise.

"I would do anything for you," I told her truthfully. It shocked me how true it really was, but it felt good all the same.

"I want you to promise me that, throughout this whole mess, you won't put yourself in any unnecessary danger. You're going to stay safe for me." I saw tears threatening to spill over, but she blinked them away before they could fall.

I was shocked to say the least. I was hoping that she had feelings for me like I do for her, but I could never be sure. All I could do was nod in confirmation. She still looked as if she wanted to say more, and I silently urged her to continue.

"I have no idea what's going to happen, but please promise me that, whatever does, you won't hate me for any decisions I have to make. I don't even know how to begin to choose between you and my family, but if I do have to make a choice, please don't hate me for it." This time a few drops did fall before she could stop them and I reached up with my thumb to wipe away her tears. That's what I'm here for anyway, to erase any memory of her pain and sorrow.

I gently put my finger under her chin and tilted it so she was looking into my eyes. "I could never hate you. Never in my life would I be able to live with myself if I did something to hurt you. I don't think it's even physically possible for me to hate you." I hoped she could see the sincerity of my words in my eyes.

"I believe you Jacob," she responded. I wasn't sure if she would be okay with me kissing her or not, so I gave her a soft kiss on her forehead before I left. Before she shut the door I called out her name.

"Yes?"

There was so much I wanted to say, but I don't think she would accept all of those things right now, so instead I settled for simply saying, "Sleep well."

She smiled softly before closing the door. I sighed and turned and started walking towards my house. She filled all of my thoughts and my dreams. I knew without a doubt that I could never stay away from this girl. She was my world, and without her I'd be lifeless. Imprint or not I know I'm falling for her, hard. I just hope she'll eventually let me into that place beside her, the place where everything feels right, where I belong, forever.


	11. Truths and Lies

**I am so so so so immensely sorry that this took me like 4 months to finish, but I had no free time to eat over the summer, let alone write! And I have many many justifiable excuses that I know you don't want to listen to, so here's the lond awaited 11th chapter! Thank you to all of you guys who are still with me after the long wait!!!**

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As expected, emotions were running high the day after the run-in with Matt and company. Let's just say it was very stressful for everyone. We were all on edge, waiting for some kind of attack and getting ready to defend our imprints. I think Hannah was probably the only one there who didn't seem too worried about anything. My guess is that she knows that they're going to be coming for her soon, but I just hope it's soon enough. No one needs this much stress on them for a long period of time.

Allison seemed very anxious the entire day. It's as if she knew something was coming, just not exactly when. I really wanted to ask her what's going on, but if it has to do with her brother and her friends, than I don't think she'll be spilling all of her secrets any time soon.

In the mean time, all of the girls were getting Quil ready for his big debut around town today. They found a dress at a maternity dress store in Forks earlier today and were now working on his non-existent hair and his make-up. We all just stood around watching him and laughing at the fool he is.

"You know, you don't all have to stand around and watch me get ready for humiliation. It's not that helpful," Quil said grumpily from his seat in front of Kim, who was drawing a line around his eye with some kind of black pencil.

"Oh but why? This is way too much fun. And Embry's getting it all on tape," Seth replied jokingly. Embry did have a video camera, but that boy couldn't make technology work if he tried. So I had a feeling it wasn't really being videotaped.

"Come on Quil, its not that bad. We go through this everyday for you guys, don't we?" Allison asked the rest of the girls, in which they nodded their heads in approval.

"Damn this is too much work; I don't see the point of this at all. You can't come out with a bare face and be ready for the day?" Quil pouted.

"Well, we could, but it would be no fun to let _you_ go out with no make-up on," Kim pouted back. "Okay Claire, do you want to do his lipstick now?"

Claire jumped up eagerly from her spot on the floor and ran over to get the tube of lipstick, I guess, from Kim. Quil's eyes seemed to light up once he saw her adorable face and he stopped complaining for the time being.

Claire, being only 5 years old, made many more red marks all over Quil's face with the lipstick than I think was supposed to be there, but whatever made her happy would be okay for Quil.

And that right there shows just how whipped we all are for our imprints. If Quil can let his imprint draw all over his face with the lipstick, while using it as a marker and his face as the paper, than I think that's proof right there.

Another crazy thing imprinting is doing is preventing me from going to hunt down Matt and throw him into a campfire. Not that it would hurt him too much, but it would still be fun. But if that happened, Allison would be forever angry with me, and it's not worth losing her forever. But I feel we have the upper hand, since we now have both of their girls. And unless this was their plan all along, we now have the advantage.

Once Claire was finished coloring Quil's face, Hannah handed Quil his huge black heels and the girls all led Quil to the mirror. He wasn't happy with what he saw, but everyone else certainly was. And while the girls were very proud of the good job they'd done with Quil, the rest of the pack was laughing their butts off at the sight of him. He had a red headband on his head with a bow on the side. His make-up consisted of blush on his cheeks, the black pencil drawn around his eyes, and lipstick everywhere. They gave him fake pearl earrings to clip-on with a pearl pendant necklace to match. His dress was bright red and went to about his knees. It thankfully wasn't a cleavage showing dress and it had a cross in the back with a black piece of material going around his waist. He had black heels to complete the outfit and looked absolutely hysterical.

"Okay Quil, I think you look good to go. I'm going to go grab you a purse and my camera," Emily said before running off.

"What do I need your camera for?" Quil called after her.

With a roll of her eyes Maggie answered, "To take pictures of the amazing job we did transforming you of course!"

Maggie then walked over to Embry and gave her a sweet smile; the one girls use to get their boyfriend or husband to do something for them. Not that she'll need it with Embry though. Like I already explained before, we're all whipped.

"So Embry, how would you like to do a special favor for me?" she asked while looking up at him through her eyelashes. Embry doesn't stand a chance. Not that I would either if Allison used it on me.

"Anything, what do you want me to do?" he replied automatically.

"Well I was thinking that it would be a shame for Quill, I mean Quillana, to have to go around town all by herself. I think she needs a big strong man to help her out. And I know you're a big strong man, so do you think you can do this one little thing for me and help Quillana around town?" And with that she finished with a pout on her face and looking at him with puppy dog eyes. Ah, poor Embry.

"You don't think _she_ can handle herself out there?" Embry asked, looking for a way out of it, even though he knows there's no way he can back out now. Ahh the powers of imprinting. These girls learn well. And fast.

"Well she could, but wouldn't you want to help you friend out? You never know what people are capable of now-a-days." Maggie, obviously not pleased with the rate this was going at, dropped the sweet act and went for the 'show him who's boss' method. "So you're going to do it either way, there's no way you can weasel out now."

"Okay, fine I'll do it." Embry grumbled, and turned to face Quil. "Quillana, would you like to go on a date with me today?" Embry asked, trying to imitate Maggie's sweet voice.

"Oh Embry, I would love to!" Quil exclaimed in a high-pitched voice that sent the group of us into another bought of laughter.

"Okay, okay, enough of this. Embry, get together with your date for a picture." Emily shoved them together and took a picture.

After a while, Quil and Embry were finally off, and the rest of us waved goodbye from the front door. Once they were out of site, we all recollected in the living room. Allison went to go sit on the couch and I took the seat right next to her, with Seth plopping down next to me. It was quiet, not in the extremely uncomfortable and awkward sense, but with the feeling that you know something has to be said, but no one wants to say anything.

Finally Sam took a deep breath and initiated the conversation we were all hoping to avoid.

"So I know that yesterday was a bit crazy, but we can't just pretend it never happened. They're obviously going to come back, and whether it was their intention or not we kind of kidnapped Allison and Hannah from them."

"Well the guy obviously didn't forget his imprint! You don't just leave and later think, 'oh no! I left the love of my life at an enemy's house!' I think it was all a set-up," Brady interrupted.

I noticed Hannah looking annoyed at his comment, but she didn't say anything back to defend her pack. Either she isn't the confrontational type of person, or she knows we're right.

Allison looked uncomfortable with this turn in conversation. In an almost anxious, nervous voice I didn't think she possessed, Allison replied "I don't really think I want to be around for this conversation. Come on Hannah." She stood up from her spot next to me and dragged Hannah out through the front door. I was tempted to go run out after her when she turned around, gave me an apologetic smile and continued to walk out the door.

And what really scares me about this whole situation is that look she gave me. It had such a sorrowful look to it. I want to believe she knows what's going to happen, but at the same time isn't in the position to say anything. I don't know how I feel about this though. Looking at it as an Alpha, I see dangers for my pack and my tribe and I know that I need to find out what we need to protect ourselves from if anything. But from the view of an imprinter, I could never ever even thing or doing something to put my imprint, the love of my life, the whole of my world, under that kind of stress and pressure. I couldn't put her in the situation to choose between the two packs. And I don't know if I want to hold that question from her because I don't want to put her in that kind of pressure, or if I'm just afraid of the answer I'm going to receive.

I was broken out of my train of loving, yet depressing thoughts of the situation by Collin exclaiming, "Now there's all the proof you need! That girl just ran out of here acting as if she ran over your puppy, but you just don't know it yet! We can't let this get any more out of hand Jacob. It needs to stop."

I let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back farther into the cushions of the couch, until they would let me disappear no more. I didn't want to deal with this. These are the points when I hate being Alpha. Everyone's looking to me to make a decision on how to handle this intruding pack of wolves and I just don't know! I don't want to make the wrong decision and I don't know how to make a right one. It's times like these where I curse my great grandfather for leaving me with this fate.

"I know something needs to be done, but I just don't know what to do anymore. As you have clearly seen, I'm not a decision maker. Honestly, I wish I could say to you 'Okay this is how this is going to be fixed. This is the best and most efficient way to handle this and it's all going to turn out fine.' But I'm not going to lie to you because I have no freaking clue what to do anymore!" I exclaimed, not sure where this was all coming from, but feeling good about letting some of my stress off my chest. Everyone was just staring at me either in pity or in shock. I didn't want either of those reactions, but I still didn't expect anything less.

I turned to Sam, and he gave me a knowing look and visibly straightened up. He opened his mouth to say something, but Seth butted in before anything could come out of his mouth.

He jumped up from his position next to me on the couch and stared down at me, as if being taller made more of an impact on what he was saying. "Jacob, are you kidding me right now? You know what this kind of behavior is called? Self-pity. No, not even that. Self-loathing. You're so sure that you can't handle this, so sure that whatever you do is going to fall apart in your hands, but you know what? I don't think that's what's going to happen here. And I know for a fact no one else here does either. Just think for a while. Don't think about Allison or about how fucked up this might be, just think of what you think should happen. Because I'm sick of hearing all of this, 'I'm not cut out to be Alpha' shit. You're a good Alpha when you have confidence in what you're doing. You have your ancestors' blood in you, so find that and use it." He finished with huff and returned to his spot on the couch.

Everyone, including me, stared at him in shock for a minute or two. They were all looking back and forth from him to me. From their 'shocked beyond comprehensible speech' Alpha, to their guilty, but satisfied pack member.

Apparently Collin was the first to sober up after that for he simply raised his hand in the air, and after a moment stated, "I second that," and lowered it down again.

There were murmurs of agreements and such made after that and all I could do was stay flabbergasted throughout the entire exchange. Not only was a amazed by Seth's motivational speech he just made, but that he actually believed that and that people agreed with him. I didn't know what to think or what to say, but I knew I had to say something eventually.

"I- I don't even know what to say." _Well that's one way to stick to the truth. Real smart sounding Jacob._ "I know I have to figure something out, but it is really nice to know that you guys all have my back if and when something fails." I looked around at every person in the pack, a grateful smile plastered on my face, the only positive emotion I could register at the moment. Then I turned to Seth and decided to try and lighten the situation a bit. "So Seth, when did you become such the motivational speaker? I thought therapist was Brady's future career?" I cracked a smile, which seemed to spread throughout the whole room

"Hey! Uncalled for right there buddy. Uncalled for," Brady punctuated each sentence, with a mocking annoyed glare in my direction, but I paid it no heed. I was satisfied with the support of my pack members and I knew that our bond together went that much farther than blood.

__

We spent the rest of the afternoon until Embry and Quil returned from their 'date' hanging out and doing little odds and ends jobs for Emily around the house. She claims she was just trying to keep us busy so we wouldn't complain we were bored with nothing to do, but I know she enjoyed having 8 huge, strong guys help her with her chores and such anyways. At one point she had Collin and Jared climb onto the roof and clean out the gutters. But it was still a nice, calm way to spend the afternoon.

Allison and Hannah never showed back up and I was getting extremely nervous. I know everyone noticed it, but no one brought anything up. I wanted to make sure my angel was okay, that no one had hurt her or taken her away from me.

By the time Emily was finishing up with dinner, Quil (who had already discarded his female costume) and Embry came strolling into the house, with Allison and Hannah being dragged behind them. And when I say drag, I mean as well as a huge, muscular 6' 8'' guy can drag a struggling, petite 5'4" girl up to the house while still trying to be gentle. Eventually, they gave up and just each threw one of the girls over their shoulder and came inside. I was so happy to see that Allison was safe, but also a little disappointed to see that she didn't want to be here.

Both girls gave up with a grunt of dislike and let Quil and Embry place them onto the couch. Once they were seated they turned to glare at Quil and Embry and crossed their arms over their chest. I came in to see what was going on, only to want to go run and hide anywhere but here.

The look on Allison's face was one I never wanted to see cross her face. It was a mix between depression, guilt, and pure hatred. The hatred was clearly directed towards Embry and Quil, but the guilt seemed to be focused more on me. The sadness was more hidden, as if she didn't want to reveal this emotion. Being her imprint, I know her well enough to be able to tell, and I can see that she is obviously upset with something. But as much as the look on her face frightened me, I took the chance and went to go sit next to her on the couch. Luckily she didn't lash out at me for this move, just simply kept glaring daggers at Quil and Embry.

At last I couldn't take it anymore, so I asked a simple enough question. Or so I thought.

"What happened?"

Her look of resentment turned into a sarcastic shock, during which she finally turned to face me. She was so beautiful, and after not seeing her all day I really came to appreciate it. I wanted to just grab her and kiss her right there, but I knew now was definitely not the time.

"So it all started once these two idiots came along. Hannah and I were just taking a little stroll along the beach, completely harmless, no need to fret about it. And then Dumber and Dumbass come along and are giving us this look that said that we shouldn't be there, and they were disappointed we were. By this point keep in mind that Quil was back to being as much of a guy as he could be, apparently having lost touch with his feminine side, which is cheating on behalf of the bet by the way.

"So they tell us that we need to get back to Emily's, to which we retorted that we are not dogs that are going to just up and listen to their every commands. So without even trying to talk to us or whatever, they just drag us away from the beach, to the car, and drive back here. And here we are." She ended this little tale with a glare in Quil and Embry's direction.

I was a bit shocked that Embry and Quil would do this. I mean, they're as overprotective of the girls of the pack as the next wolf, but they wouldn't go to this extent. It's not like them, and I've been best friends with the two of them my whole life. I'm sure there was a catch or something somewhere, but I would find out about that later. I looked up at them, trying to convey to them that I'd listen to their explanation for this whole situation later, but for now to simply drop it. They saw what I was trying to say and nodded.

Emily came in, her hair falling out of its hair tie, but a smile radiating off the left half of her face. "Dinner's ready. Come on in guys," she said, and then continued back through the door she just appeared in.

I stood up, bringing Allison with me, who in turn made Hannah stand up. We all went into the kitchen to sit down for dinner. Everyone acknowledged the tension in the air and did their best to relieve it. Quil and Embry fell in with the flow of things, and so did Hannah, but Allison and I sat across from each other, stealing glances at one another every so often, but would then look down, as if about to tell them something, but deciding against it at the last second.

After we all polished off the food we thanked Emily, Maggie, and Kim for the wonderful food and started to help clean up. Once that was finished I pulled Quil and Embry with me to the backyard without any one seeming to notice. Once we were there, they had guilt and pitying looks on their faces, for reasons I was hoping to unveil.

"Alright, so I know you guys wouldn't do something like that to anyone, much less Hannah and Allison, for no reason. And I would kind of like to know the reason," I stated simply, not wanting to waste time with small talk.

Embry sighed, looked over at Quil, who nodded once, and then turned back to me. "Well first of all, they weren't technically at the beach. We found them in the woods around where those tree scratches were. We had phased because Quil obviously didn't want to walk around like a freaking transvestite and I didn't want to walk around wherever for no reason. So we came across them out there in the woods, so we phased back to go ask them what was going on, but when we got closer, they whispered 'run' to the bush in front of them, and then innocently turned to face us.

"When we were closer, we smelled the other pack. We knew that they were the ones Hannah and Allison had told to run, not the bushes obviously. And we were mad that they had met up with them and could be telling them anything about us. And we don't want them to know anything about us. So then we reacted as any of you would, we stormed our asses in there and got them away from the other wolves as fast as their struggling legs would allow us. And so we threw them in Quil's car and came right back here. She didn't want us to tell any of you guys, but we both felt you had the right to know."

I looked at them both hard after that. I could tell by their faces and the look in their eyes that they weren't lying. But now I knew that she was. And that just made me wonder what else she could possibly be lying to me about. It was scary to think about all of the things she told me and to try and guess which ones were true and which ones were lies. I knew I would need to talk to her about a lot after this, but I wasn't even sure where to start.

"Thank you guys. I know that it was probably a hard situation for you to be in, but I appreciate all of it. Now do you mind if I go have a few words with Allison?"

They both nodded yes cautiously, as if too vigorous of a head movement would set me off. Little did any of us know that that caution was needed more than in a simple nod of the head. I learned this fairly quickly though.

But later on I would learn that the most truthful part of that entire day was the spine chilling look she gave me before she fled from the house; from me.

* * *

**Soo... what'd you think? Review please!!!!  
****Love,  
****MintCcIceCream **


	12. Authors Note

So I was looking through the inbox in my email, and I realized that the last time I actually received a review for this story was back in the beginning of July. It is now November and I think that kind of says something. So I'm not sure if I'm going to continue writing this story if no one is telling me that they like it. So I'm sorry to all of you who were enjoying reading this story, but if you want to read more I need to actually get reviews. I never pressed for reviews, because I hated when other authors did, but now I see that maybe I should have done something. Oh well. Once again I apologize, but realize that in a roundabout way, it could still be your fault for simply not pressing the little rectangle at the bottom and leaving a review.

Love,

MintCcIceCream


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